Michigan State interim coach Harlon Barnett weighs in on Michigan scandal

When a reporter asked Michigan State interim head coach Harlon Barnett his thoughts on the Big Ten’s response to Michigan’s “sign-stealing” scandal, he couldn’t help but smile. After a moment of silence, he gave an unexpected response.

“What do you think?” Barnett said to the reporter.

Crickets.

“I’m teasing,” Barnett said after laughing off the awkward silence. “I’m thinking like most people in this room. I’m hopefully thinking. I’ll leave it at that.”

If the accusations are true, Michigan State suffered the consequences on an intimate level. On Oct. 21, Michigan rag-dolled the Spartans in 49-0 fashion. No matter what signal Michigan State sent into its offense, it didn’t work.

The team tallied just 182 total yards in the loss while only picking up 10 first downs. The Spartans also committed two turnovers. When further accusatory stories arose surrounding Michigan, wandering eyes looked back to the lopsided affair, Barnett included.

Michigan State AD demands justice

Evidently, Barnett is doing more than just hopefully thinking. On a call last week — which included Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who hung up to let the other speak freely — Big Ten coaches urged commissioner Tony Petitti to punish the Wolverines.

A day later, the athletic directors echoed a similar sentiment and discussed a possible suspension for Harbaugh rather than punishing the players. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller led the charge.

Haller brought up the changes Michigan State made in preparation for its Week 8 game against Michigan. During that matchup, the Spartans were forced to run to the sidelines to get signals rather than relaying them to the quarterback on the field.

Further, Haller pointed out the Big Ten’s handling of last year’s incident at The Big House, which saw Michigan State suspend multiple players before the investigation wrapped up. Haller said the Big Ten told MSU to issue the suspensions, and he wondered why the league was waiting until the investigation into Michigan ended to hand out punishments, calling it “hypocritical.”

Petitti has the authority to punish Michigan because of the Big Ten’s sportsmanship cause, which is about the “integrity of competition” in the “competitive arena,” if the discipline is “standard” or “major.”

“Standard action includes a fine not exceeding $10,000 and a suspension of no more than two contests,” Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger and Dan Wetzel wrote. “Major action is anything exceeding those penalties and is subject to approval from the Big Ten executive board of presidents.”

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.