Michigan legislators send bipartisan letter to Big Ten's Tony Petitti asking for due process

A bipartisan group of Michigan state legislators sent a letter to Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti urging due process when it comes to potentially punishing Michigan football as a result of the ongoing NCAA sign-stealing investigation. The Big Ten is expected to take action this week.

The letter, signed by 11 elected officials from the Michigan state House of Representatives and Senate, includes signatories who are both Democrats and Republicans. It ultimately calls for a fair and unbiased investigation before any action is taken, and not necessarily from the league.

“Should you, as the Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, rush to judgement or engage in any
ill-considered actions, we will vigorously support our public universities in their efforts to
compel fairness and due process,” the letter reads, in part.

The letter urges Petitti to stand down for the time being, ideally, to allow for the NCAA investigation to run its course. And in lieu of completed investigations, the writers of the letter do not want to see “premature” punishments handed down.

“It is essential that the Big Ten Conference not take any disciplinary action against the University
of Michigan until the final results of its own or, more appropriately, the NCAA investigation are
officially announced. Should those results demonstrate misconduct, an appropriate punishment
should be imposed. In the meantime, the players and coaches should be free to continue to
participate in the game that they love without being punished with premature or
unsubstantiated sanctions,” the letter reads.

It also urged Petitti to not simply pay heed to other coaches and athletic directors around the league clamoring for Michigan to be punished.

“We all know the passion surrounding college athletics, not only in our state, but around the
country. With social media speculation and public rumors running wild, it is important that any
investigation and determination is based on carefully considered facts. The University of
Michigan and its football program, like all of our collegiate athletic programs, is entitled to an
impartial and deliberate process that takes into account all evidence, allows for opportunities
for the accused to refute allegations, and comes to conclusions based on the whole truth,” the letter reads.

The effort was spearheaded by a pair of state representatives, Phil Skaggs and Graham Filler, according to a press release. The other Michigan congresspeople to sign on were representatives Donovan McKinney, Carrie Rheingans, Jennifer A. Conlin, Jason Morgan, Felicia Brabec, Jimmie Wilson Jr., Alabas Farhat, and senators Sue Shink and John Cherry

Skaggs and Filler, a Democrat and Republican, respectively, both offered further quotes in the press release.

“It’s absolutely vital that members of the Big Ten Conference receive due process in any investigation, especially those that may have been initiated by allegations from parties with clear conflicts of interest,” Skaggs said in the release. “We must not punish the dedicated players, coaches and staff of the University of Michigan football program based on incomplete evidence.”

Filler echoed the sentiment.

“We know that college football is a topic charged with emotions on all sides. What’s important here is to let the facts determine the outcome of this investigation,” said Filler. Filler is also the co-founder of the Big Ten athletics blog “Off-Tackle Empire,” according to the release.