I have been on the phone non-stop this evening with people I have leaned on in the past, some colleagues I trust and those involved with the football program to try and get a sense of where things are, what happened and how things could be moving forward.
I want to preface this by saying that many aren't talking right now, it's gone very quiet, so I have been trying to get as much as I can.
Let's get started.
Seeking an opinion of a lawyer
I have been in contact with a local lawyer I respect (who is also very aware of the happenings with the football program right now) to get a sense of why Michigan went the way it did on Thursday. I didn't want to paraphrase anything so I will include his professional opinion in full:
"In order to prevail on a request for a TRO, the moving party must show not only irreparable harm but also a reasonable likelihood that the moving party would prevail on the merits. The latter element was Michigan’s weakness. In Michigan’s petition (which I have carefully reviewed) and in the Big Ten’s reply to Michigan’s letter (which I have carefully reviewed) both entities argued the legal merits relative to which conference rule or NCAA rule was controlling in this situation. While both positions had legal merit, Michigan’s position did not rise to the level of showing a reasonable likelihood that Michigan would prevail on the legal merits. Judge Connors is not a legal scholar, and given his very specific interests in the law, I believe that this was not a legal issue that he cared to roll up his sleeves to try to understand. When Judge Connors’ term expires, he cannot run for re-election. In contrast, Michigan’s attorney, Keefe Brooks, is regarded by most attorneys as the best lawyer in the state. I know him very well, and while he is a brilliant advocate and strategist, he is not a cowboy. He knows when to fight to the bitter end on an issue, and he knows when to counsel his clients to cut their losses. The optics of losing a TRO motion would have been horrendous for Michigan. Losing a TRO motion has nothing to do with the ultimate outcome of the case, but anyone who is unfamiliar with the law would likely not appreciate the difference. Thus, the narrative would have incorrectly been that losing the TRO motion meant that Michigan lost the case and is therefore guilty. My best guess is that Keefe anticipated that Judge Connors would either rule against Michigan, or Judge Connors would string this out for a few weeks to the point where the outcome of the TRO motion would be irrelevant. I have not spoken to Keefe about this, and therefore this is my best professional assessment; it is not inside information."
While many here have hypothesized, it's highly likely that the university would've likely lost the case or saw it pushed back to where the results wouldn't matter. So taking your losses like this would've been the right outcome here.
To be sure, this is not an admission of guilt by U-M by any means.
On the team's response
We have been told that the team initially had some level of shock to learn that Harbaugh would remain suspended for the rest of the regular season. However, that shock quickly turned to business as usual as the team conducted a very good practice on Thursday evening.
Harbaugh addressed the team before practice and said that he was disappointed in the situation but the team continues on as one.
U-M players have openly told people that Harbaugh took a bullet for the team willingly to protect the players and to end the distraction and outside noise looming overhead. Now, they can focus on the final two games. There is nothing to suggest that Harbaugh begrudgingly conceded to the Big Ten or did this without his blessing.
On what's next and what we don't know
Our sources haven't offered much in terms of inside information coming out of the suspension news. No one seems to be talking and hasn't offered much of a reaction.
Here's the big question we still need to answer:
Is an assistant being wrapped up into this? If so, who?
That's what we have yet to connect. We have NOT heard anything of significance to suggest that anyone is aware of evidence connecting a staffer or assistant to Stalions' scouting efforts. We have been told numerous times from those close to Stalions that there is no evidence that exists to link anyone to his efforts.
Now, just because we haven't heard anything doesn't mean it's true or false, just that we have yet to hear anything of significance just yet. If it does indeed turn out to be true, we'll continue to dig as needed and I will gladly say I failed to get that information.
Of course, we will continue to dig and see what we can come up with. That's the big question I am looking to answer.
