Michigan sign-stealing allegations: Additional details emerge on response to Big Ten, per report

Details are starting to emerge about Michigan’s response to the Big Ten in light of the notice of potential disciplinary action, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger and Dan Wetzel. The Wolverines’ 10-page response included “numerous objections” to a possible punishment.

Michigan pointed out multiple documents and pictures of the Wolverines’ own offensive and defensive signs that were stolen by other teams. Reports came out Tuesday that multiple programs decoded Michigan’s signals and shared that information with other programs. In addition, the university said “unadjudicated rule violations cannot be the basis for a sportsmanship action,” Wetzel wrote.

UM also argued Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti doesn’t have the authority to punish Jim Harbaugh under the league’s sportsmanship policy and that disciplinary action would be “highly disproportionate given the broader regulatory context of the case” at this time, according to Wetzel.

In its letter, Michigan claimed the Big Ten is acting prematurely. Because the NCAA hasn’t come up with “significant evidence,” the university said the conference is relying on “summaries and descriptions of evidence,” Wetzel reported. Michigan also aregued the Big Ten had so little evidence, the conference had very little proof of any wrongdoing by now-former analyst Connor Stalions.

Because the university said the conference provided so little evidence, “Michigan has no ability to dispute the allegations at this time.”

On top of that, Michigan noted its margin of victory went from 34 points to 38 points after Stalions resigned. The Wolverines beat Purdue 41-13 the day after he announced his resignation.

“There is simply no evidence that Stalions’s actions had a material effect on any of Michigan’s games this season,” the letter read, via Wetzel.

Michigan has threatened legal action as a result of the situation, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported, and Dellenger said this could be a part of that process. The university argued Petitti isn’t following due process, as stated in the conference handbook, and is “bootstrapping unproven rules violations through the Sportsmanship Policy.”

The Big Ten’s sportsmanship policy is about the “integrity of competition” in the “competitive arena,” if the discipline is “standard” or “major.”

Michigan received notice of possible disciplinary action from the Big Ten earlier this week and had until Wednesday to respond. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported the Wolverines issued their response.

The NCAA’s investigation into the sign-stealing allegations at Michigan centered on Stalions, who resigned last week. He allegedly led a scheme to send people to opposing teams’ games to film the sidelines and steal their signals. According to multiple reports, he bought tickets to Big Ten and possible College Football Playoff opponents’ games as part of the plan.

Petitti has met with multiple groups of people over the last couple weeks to discuss a course of action. Last week, he met with Big Ten coaches and athletics directors, and a possible suspension of Harbaugh came up in the meeting with the ADs. No decision was made, though, and Pettiti ended up meeting with conference presidents, as well.

On Friday, Petitti was on campus in Ann Arbor for the Big Ten field hockey championships. While there, he met with Michigan president Santa Ono and others about where things stand. Ono also sent an email to Petitti’s office, as The Wolverine first reported, asking for due process throughout the investigation.

Michigan state lawmakers also weighed in on the matter on Wednesday. A group sent a letter to Petitti expressing a similar sentiment, calling on the Big Ten commissioner to stand down for the time being while the NCAA goes through its investigation into the sign-stealing allegations against Michigan.

“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.