Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore, Michigan violations: 'The NCAA is to blame'

On Monday, it was revealed that Michigan is expected to hand down a two-game suspension for head coach Sherrone Moore as a part of a self-imposed punishment pertaining to what has become known as ‘signgate.’ The suspension comes following allegations that Moore deleted text messages that were exchanged between him and former assistant Connor Stalions.

The NCAA would later be able to recover these messages, and the self-imposed ban appears to be an attempt to lower the eventual sanctions that will potentially be handed out by the NCAA. Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has since commented on the situation. His stern take is sure to ruffle a few Wolverines fans feathers.

“The NCAA is to blame for a lot of this,” Meyer told co-host Rob Stone on the Triple Option podcast. “Obviously, those who commit the activity, illegal activity, and that’s what it is. Not by law, but according to the laws of the NCAA, and I would come out pretty strong and say that.”

Meyer explained that his feelings stem from activities that surrounded him as he was coming up and playing college football. Steroid use along with other performance enhancing drugs were common in many sports at the time. The NCAA was forced to act on the abuse, and came down hard on anyone who tested positive for them.

“They said, if you do that, you’re done playing sports,” Meyer continued. “That sport, not for a game, not for two games, not like the marijuana. It used to be marijuana where it was up to the school. This was not up to the school. If you got caught with steroids and performance enhancing drugs, you know what happened? You just went away. Because the risk reward for an athlete was, don’t do that, or my career is over.

The former college football coach mentioned how in 2009, Dez Bryant was suspended for the final nine games of his junior season for lying to the NCAA about his relationship with Deion Sanders. They found that he was guilty of ‘actively and deliberately concealed, omitted or provided inaccurate or false information,’ Meyer pondered how the NCAA could hand down what he considers a “swift, effective” punishment to a player, yet fail to do hold a coach to the same standard.

“If you lie as a college football coach to the NCAA, in my personal opinion, you’re finished,” Meyer said. “You’re done. That’s not making a text message, that’s not going to lunch with someone you’re not supposed with, all the level three’s and all that nonsense. But when they got you, and they said, ‘did you do this?’ and they refuse to cooperate or they lie — in my very stong opinion, you’re finished coaching in Division I college football.”

As it stands, Moore is set to coach Michigan’s season opener, as well as the Week 2 non-conference matchup against Oklahoma. He is expected to miss the Week 3 and Week 4 matchups against Central Michigan and Nebraska.