Can we just chill out, please? I am fine with Tennessee getting hammered with vacated losses, massive fines, and the loss of scholarships because Jeremy Pruitt handed out bags of cash over and over again back in the day when pay-for-play wasn’t legal. And yes, I know pay-for-play isn’t legal now, but it’s happening, so let’s move forward. If a coach was handing out bags of cash now, I’d be fine with it — this is the world we live in of college football. But hamburgers? Are we really talking about hamburgers?
Jim Harbaugh at Michigan paid for hamburgers for recruits, and now he’s rumored to be getting suspended for four games. And some people want him fired. What the hell are we doing here?
Yes, I’m aware that the suspension would be because he lied to the inept NCAA about the investigation. And yes I’m aware that coaches like Bruce Pearl, Jim Tressel, and Bobby Petrino were destroyed for lying and covering up different things. But that was then, and this is now. It’s a new world. A billionaire booster can offer a kid millions to come to his favorite school, and we’re focused on Harbaugh buying burgers? Back when Pearl, Tressel, and Petrino (amongst others) were hammered, we cared about the leadership and coaching role models of our young college athletes. The sport was purer. You couldn’t cheat. And if you did, you got punished. We aren’t there anymore.
Harbaugh lied. I don’t care. He didn’t participate properly in the NCAA investigation. I don’t give a crap. In my best Allen Iverson voice, here it goes — “We’re talking about hamburgers. Not bags of cash. Hamburgers.” The NCAA, as usual, is about ten years behind the times and is out here punishing things from years ago that are not even issues now. People complain the Vols didn’t get a bowl ban. Why? Everyone was fired, and we can now hand bags to players without recourse. Now people want Harbaugh’s head on a platter? I don’t care if he bought hamburgers for every recruit since he was hired. It doesn’t matter anymore, who gives a crap? The college football presidents, athletic directors, and the NCAA have allowed a system of free agency without a salary cap or luxury taxes in a free-for-all college football world, and we care about burgers. Let’s get real.
So for those who hate Michigan, have at it. But don’t waste my time with your complaints. Coaches lie every day, it’s part of the job. In fact, it’s a REQUIREMENT of the job. So he lied about buying burgers and the rest of the infractions (none of them serious at all). Knowing Harbaugh, he did it out of sheer disgust with the current process, as I’m sure he shares my opinion on the state of college football and what we should focus on. And, like I said, I don’t care.
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