Per Balas, Michigan, media gathering evidence on PIs
Article not paywalled
"Several sources at Michigan and in the media tell TheWolverine.com they are gathering evidence on two private investigators they believe are behind the investigation into U-M’s alleged illegal on-site scouting. The same sources also believe the two are responsible for the media leaks that have kept the story in the news for weeks"
Didn't see this on the board. Haven't posted in many years. Please be gentle
November 3rd, 2023 at 3:16 PM ^
Could be enough to get the eyes of the conference and the NCAA pointed at them though.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:41 PM ^
Imagining the OSU camp arguing that they shouldn’t be held responsible for someone they hired breaking the rules is a juicy proposition
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:44 PM ^
It would depend on what exactly Day hired them to do. If he hired them to investigate UM and they happened to commit crimes in the process without Day's knowledge or approval, I'd say he's probably fine. He'd have to be remarkably stupid to sign a contract or have any written communications that explicitly included committing crimes.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:50 PM ^
EYB, ever the master linguist. conspiracy is generally this: with knowledge of the unlawful purpose, and with the specific intent to join such activity with others, a direct step is taken in the furtherance of the conspiracy by any member of the conspiracy, even if the step taken is something lawful. conspirators are liable for the crimes committed by others in furtherance of the conspircay, as well as any other crimes that are reasonably foreseeable in that action.
examples: we conspire to rob a store. i buy a gun, lawfully. that's enough to get us both on the hook for the robbery, even though we never take any further steps. next: i send you out with the gun to do the robbery and you kill the clerk. that's enough to get me on the hook for murder (putting felony-murder rule aside for now) along with you, the trigger man, since murder committed during an armed robbery is pretty foreseeable.
applying here, actually proving big bro is going to hack a computer (if that's what happened) and that little bro ryan knew would be very difficult, borderline impossible in practical, court room, what actually happens context.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:56 PM ^
I am not sure about Paragraph 2. I think that may be Felony Murder.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:18 PM ^
What will this prove / mean once they find out who (if they do)? Seems like it would be just a name of a firm so who cares?
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:21 PM ^
It would be embarrassing for Ryan Day, it would force the Big Ten to do something to prevent a culture from being created where schools just investigate each other for dirt to use. And if the part about Stalions’ spreadsheet being obtained by illegal means is true, then it changes the equation entirely.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:32 PM ^
Yes, I think it would change any pressure being put in the Big Ten right now. Youre not going to want a precedent where a school can dig up dirt on a rival and execute some mob justice based on it. It's going to mean the chances anything happens this season go to 0% imo as now it really needs to be investigated if the source for the whole thing is OSU PIs.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:53 PM ^
It also severely violates any so-called sportsmanship policy that the Big Ten might try to use against Michigan.
Can't well hammer Michigan for bad sportsmanship when the "evidence" you have is from a rival that committed an actual crime to get it.
Best for the Big Ten to just put a quick and quiet end to this whole issue right now, and not set a precedent they'll regret for a long time.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:38 PM ^
Yeah honestly, IF OSU hired the firm, even if no laws were broken, it opens the gate to conferences tearing themselves apart if they hammer UM or Harbaugh. This would have been a non-issue if they would have just handed the evidence over to the NCAA quietly as is proper. But someone got greedy and wants to wage a PR ward with the intention of getting Harbaugh out of college NOW. Not sure you want to set that precedent.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:09 PM ^
Bingo
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:22 PM ^
PI firms don't just go around investigating CFB programs for funsies. Who hired them? Who paid them? How do we know the methods the PI used for gathering evidence were legal or legitimate? How do we know they didn't plant evidence?
It may be a shady conspiracy, or it may be some very "grey area" activity (my personal guess), or it may be all above board. But if we're all clutching our pearls about iffy activities happening away from the field of play, let's lay it all on the table.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:39 PM ^
Day makes around $10 million a year. Few hundred thousand of that could go a long way with skeezy P.I. firms.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
Don't forget he has a huge expense on hair dye though
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:09 PM ^
You can probably get used motor oil for free
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:23 PM ^
public humiliation?
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:55 PM ^
Sounds like a way to get out of Ryan Day's contract to me...
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:36 PM ^
Well let's look at this aspect of it.
How was the PI firm able to ascertain which football tickets Scalions purchased with his own credit card from the secondary market? The only way would be having access to the ticket sales. For example, let's say that Ohio State sells ticket section 444, Row 11, seat 23. If the person who originally purchased that ticket sold that ticket to say stub hub, does Ohio State get access to who purchased the ticket for resale? A PI firm can't get that information.
Next, I keep hearing there is stadium surveillance video of the people who purchased the tickets holding their cell phones and video recording the sideline all game. How does a PI firm get access to stadium surveillance video?
In both of those cases, there should be a strong correlation between a university providing that information to a 3rd party PI firm.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:15 PM ^
I don't think it's been reported that the PI firm brought up that info. The schools involved brought it up after it became a story, that Stalions bought tickets in his name, and that surveillance video showed people in those seats recording the game. The PI firm brought up the videos on a drive and Stalions's schedule and budget.
November 3rd, 2023 at 3:14 PM ^
I think it was the Washington Post article which said it was the PI firm which brought the information to the NCAA with both the NCAA and Michigan blindsided by the information.
November 3rd, 2023 at 5:43 PM ^
Post said they had Stalions' files. Maybe he had specific ticket info on there. The Post did not say the PI had the surveillance video or even the ticket sale info.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
This scandal has some serious aspects to it but it has also been, mostly, a media-anger-dogpile that is made a bigger deal due to public perception and the attempt to shape public perception.
So it matters for that.
I think it less likely that a crime has been committed, but if one were that would matter.
But if it is, in fact, OSU perpetrating this, it matters for that too.
1. That's a huge escalation in a rivalry that up to this point is characterized by intensity on the field and mutual respect off of it;
2. As others have mentioned, it's a big deal because rivals and competitors going whole hog investigating each other for violations is a major escalation and nobody in college sports will like where that leads.
3. It matters because if Ryan Day is behind this and he's still not able to win a national title that should be a humiliation that stains his rep as brightly as whatever this scandal does to Harbaugh.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:35 PM ^
Of course the OSU troll would ask this question.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:20 PM ^
Well at least someone is investigating this. The national media clearly is uninterested in it and would rather just regurgitate the same info about how many tickets Stalions bought.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:57 PM ^
Yeah, where the hell is Thamel in this one? If he's carrying his network's water to stain the Big Ten since they are on rival networks now, why not try to take down Ohio State too?
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:35 PM ^
Too busy french perming ryan days butt hair
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:20 PM ^
Unprecedented!
A team has their biggest rival investigated by a PI and pays for information to get said rival punished. This is bigger than Stalions! Pandora's box, to say the least. It's mind-bottling!!
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:29 PM ^
I'm sure Day's family members as well as anyone associated with that program are 100% unbiased.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:13 PM ^
Pretty sure that's worthy of a postseason ban for the school and lifetime ban for the coach per the Big Ten bylaws.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:20 PM ^
Also mentions the spreadsheet obtained by the WaPo was obtained illegally and it involves Day’s family… <Michael Jackson popcorn gif>
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:24 PM ^
I'm sure the Endless Self Promotion Network will spend a lot of time with this angle.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:33 PM ^
I think you mean East coast SPorts Network. Would you like an update on the Eagles / Giants / Jets / Patriots? Of course you would!
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:37 PM ^
Don't forget the Yankees or Red Sox.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:45 PM ^
Let's be fair.
They give coverage to the Cowboys and Lakers, too.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:21 PM ^
If a computer crime was committed by the firm hired by Ryan Day and Ryan Day encouraged such behavior…that’s called conspiracy.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:14 PM ^
Wait...Ryan Day going to jail is on the table? Oh, that's terrible.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:21 PM ^
I'm running out of popcorn over here...
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:21 PM ^
It’s about time they start changing the narrative.
All signs lead back to Day
November 3rd, 2023 at 9:26 PM ^
College game day sign:
”I didn’t steal this sign, but Jason Day and his family accused me anyway!”
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:21 PM ^
hahaha I mean this with all sincerity but what in the actual fuck is going on?
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:45 PM ^
Right? Like if someone made this up as fiction people would blow it off as too unrealistic.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:01 PM ^
Good not great head coach in over his head desperately trying to change the narrative so he doesnt have to go be an offensive analyst in Alabama
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:22 PM ^
When I clicked on it, it was paywalled.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:25 PM ^
I just read the article in its entirety and I do not have an On3 subscription.
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:28 PM ^
There is definitely a lot of garbage on that site but just keep scrolling and you will get to actual content.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:15 PM ^
You get X many free articles. You've used yours up already. Try a different browser or computer or something.
November 3rd, 2023 at 3:57 PM ^
BUY A NEW COMPUTER TO READ THE ARTICLE! IT'S GOOD NEWS FOR ONCE
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:20 PM ^
Okay. Got it to work now. Thanks, guys.
Lots of interesting stuff. I'll bet this is what IH was talking about when he said the truth will set us free.
November 3rd, 2023 at 2:26 PM ^
Looks like you get three free stories each month: