Former Big 12 Commissioner Advises Petitti to Slow Down, Respect Due Process
Per On3 (not paywalled).
The full quote from former Big 12 Commissioner Steven Hatchell is somewhat rambling, but the money line is: "There should not be a rush to judgment." He speaks about how part of the job of a commissioner is to "protect [each] school from [the other] 13."
Hatchell is currently the president/CEO of the National Football Foundation, the organization that manages the CFB Hall of Fame.
Hatchell may seem like a odd voice to be speaking out publicly, but Balas ($) is hinting that Hatchell is speaking on behalf of the Big 12 -- the apparent insinuation being that the Big 12 does not want details of potential sign-sharing between Big Ten opponents and TCU to emerge, if Petitti suspends Harbaugh and Michigan is forced to sue.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:26 PM ^
What a tangled web to have woven.
Also, where has our boy Thamel been? Interesting how his drips have dried up… all of a sudden. I… wonder why.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:28 PM ^
I was just thinking the same thing. ESPN has to be rethinking their approach to all this.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:30 PM ^
ESPN spent the morning using Finebaum and others to demand action against Michigan. So, I don't think they're rethinking anything. I do wonder whether Thamel's failure to report on the collusion between the other teams has forced them to put him in time out, though, so as not to disturb the narrative they're pushing.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:33 PM ^
That's interesting to know they are still pushing for Michigan's head (I won't watch or listen to any of their content). ESPN has too much invested in this narrative to backtrack now I guess.
November 8th, 2023 at 7:16 PM ^
Ironic that the Big 12 conference's former commissioner is pointing this out. The Big 12's forerunner (the Southwest Conference) disintegrated after the members fell into an ugly mess of mutual tattling to the NCAA. Someone should mention this to Petitti and the rest of the Big !0.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:41 PM ^
Maybe on TV but their website has calmed down a ton. Right now all that's on the front page is the following:
1. U of M's Corum denies business dealings with Stallions
2. Stephen A and some random "clashing" over Michigan's potential punishment (video link)
3. An article on the upcoming M vs PSU game
Not saying that cant change in an instant but at least for now the pot isnt being stirred nearly as vigorously as it has been over the past two weeks. I wonder why?
November 8th, 2023 at 3:14 PM ^
The ESPN radio talking heads this morning (specifically Danny Kannel) were also very much off the 'ban them now' train. Kannel has been riding this as much as Stephan A, but strangely said nothing when the UM-PSU game talk came up.
So yeah, they're slowing it down...
November 8th, 2023 at 3:20 PM ^
The same Danny Kannell that defended Pat Fitzgerald and urged for there not to be a rush to judgment? No… can’t be. Oh, wait… it is (https://clutchpoints.com/northwestern-football-news-former-nfl-qb-blasted-defending-pat-fitzgerald-controversial-firing).
November 8th, 2023 at 6:40 PM ^
That random is Mad Dog. He has been around for years. Probably as well known as Stephen A
November 8th, 2023 at 2:44 PM ^
ESPN has no interest in protecting Michigan and Big Ten, and have everyone to gain if the conference is in disarray.
Fox/CBC/NBC should deliver a strong message to Pettiti if they have not.
November 8th, 2023 at 5:36 PM ^
I don't think that's the way to think about this situation. Bribery from the TV stations is low class. I see a lot of good people here are lowering their values because if this. I'm still holding out hope that the school and coach that I have supported all of my life did not do what they are being accused of. If they did, I will be hurt, disappointed, and felt betrayed. I just think Jim Harbaugh is above cheating and I hope it is proven and he coaches the next 12 or so years here where he belongs.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:32 PM ^
I should have mentioned that Finebaum gratuitously brought up disarray in the old Southwest Conference and SMU receiving the death penalty on air this morning. He didn't explicitly draw a comparison, but the mention was intended to suggest similar circumstances. That's the kind of nonsense we're dealing with here.
November 8th, 2023 at 5:30 PM ^
I thought Finebaum was in the get Harbaugh but leave the kids alone bucket?
November 8th, 2023 at 3:00 PM ^
No because they can just use their carnival barkers to get social media engagement. They don't care about journalism. They haven't for years.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:58 PM ^
Journalist is a long dead trade IMHO. The traditional media run no different from social media now.
November 8th, 2023 at 9:45 PM ^
I have long wondered why anyone at all cares about what Stephen A Smith says about anything. He's a loser.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:25 PM ^
So is the NCAA. Once you start shooting it’s not so clean.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:32 PM ^
If ever Thamel was a serious player, it ended with Manti Teo. I mean, c'mon. Then, his utter hiding (while keeping the first story pinned) on X while all of the rest of the facts came out, confirm that he is not serious or to be trusted in any way.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:46 PM ^
"... his drips have dried up..."
The penicillin must be working.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:28 PM ^
With drips dry perhaps they replaced Thamel with a camel.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:31 PM ^
He may have been reading this blog.
November 8th, 2023 at 4:58 PM ^
It's almost as if the January crop report was.....wrong!
November 8th, 2023 at 2:26 PM ^
Promote that man!
November 8th, 2023 at 4:30 PM ^
If he decides to enter the commissioner transfer portal, I think he’s worth a look.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:27 PM ^
." He speaks about how part of the job of a commissioner is to "protect [each] school from [the other] 13."
Wait a darn second. I was told the job of the commissioner was to enact the will of the masses, especially when they're very, very angry, regardless of evidence and due process.
I can see why he's an ex-commissioner.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:24 PM ^
Yeah, how dare he be reasonable and mature, when he should be calling for more torches and pitchforks. What nerve!
November 8th, 2023 at 2:27 PM ^
Burn them all
November 8th, 2023 at 2:29 PM ^
Good title, no editorializing, concise summary of information. This should be the standard for signgate posts.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:36 PM ^
A perfect landing.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:41 PM ^
It should be on the docket for Hall of Fame consideration?
November 8th, 2023 at 2:30 PM ^
"There should not be a rush to judgment." He speaks about how part of the job of a commissioner is to "protect [each] school from [the other] 13."
You mean it isn't the job of a conference commissioner to join with the others in telling one of its oldest and most prestigious members to go fuck themselves?
I could have sworn that was, in fact, an essential duty.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:33 PM ^
the apparent insinuation being that the Big 12 does not want details of potential sign-sharing between Big Ten opponents and TCU to emerge
Nobody is more fervently an advocate of "due process" than somebody whose dirty laundry is about to be uncovered in a hasty trial. Those fecal stains are very embarrassing.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:07 PM ^
I am amused watching every other school think they have nothing to lose here. I thought we'd all watched enough to know everyone has secrets. I've got SEC fans chirping me on reddit about how Michigan are a bunch of cHeAtErS. Like my man- do you want to go down this road?
November 8th, 2023 at 3:45 PM ^
I had Georgia flairs unironically telling me that a head coach is responsible for everything that happens at their program while also trying to frame what Michigan did as “institutional cheating” and what Georgia did “kids being stupid” (even though it was a staffer driving the car).
r/CFB, as well as Reddit as a whole, is a collection of people who think they are smarter than they really are even on the best of days. These last two weeks that place might as well be renamed “eleven red cedar warriors message boards”.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:47 PM ^
Have to strongly disagree.
Often those calling for due process are doing so for the exact right reasons--they are innocent and need protection from the angry mob rush to judgment based on 'what everybody already knows is true'...when it in fact is not true, leaves out important parts of the truth, or is true but not a crime...
Due process protects against witch hunt scenarios.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:35 PM ^
Pettitti got gaslit. If it was me, I'd be livid - at the gaslighters. Sure, M gave him egg on his face but they Santa warned him about it. He probably wants to save face, but he probably can't. And any further action takes him from a gaslighted victim to an accessory.
Sorry, I'm no lawyer but I used some lawyer terms. Point is he got punked. Best way forward is probably come down hard on the other 13 in some way for punking him. But even then, just don't know how he will every have any leverage in this job moving forward.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:43 PM ^
The best lawyer term you used in those two paragraphs are "punked". I love puking the suits.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:32 PM ^
I had to upvote this because the typo makes two verbs, and both fit the situation: "Punked" like showing up idiots, or "puked" like you do to get rid of something disgusting.
Either way, it works.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:46 PM ^
Maybe an OSU booster has something on him. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:49 PM ^
I won’t give him that out. He knows damn well what he’s doing and if he didn’t initially, he does now
November 8th, 2023 at 2:54 PM ^
He’s like the prosecutor who proceeded on the victim’s statement only to find out they lied to him. None too happy.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:20 PM ^
I don't know what the shortest tenure is for a B1G commissioner, but I don't see how this new guy survives this kerfuffle.
November 8th, 2023 at 2:35 PM ^
So, is he saying the "Fire, Ready, Aim" approach being taken by Pettiti and the other B1G teams might not be optimal?
November 8th, 2023 at 2:38 PM ^
Nope. It’s 2023. The best kind of judgement is one that is rushed to, the best kind of speculation is irresponsible speculation, the best kind of sources are anonymous, the best kinds of decisions are emotional and reactionary, and it’s way more important to be first instead of accurate.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:04 PM ^
It's great to know that the B1G is following the most advanced techniques to reach a decision.
Years ago, the Harvard Negotiation Project did a LOT of analysis / study / etc. - and published a book called "Getting to Yes". They worked with various governments and were even engaged in Nuclear Disarmament discussions.
Of course, all of that Nuclear Disarmament pales in comparison to this.
It's also so good to see these B1G participants going back to the Stone Age in their approach.
November 8th, 2023 at 9:52 PM ^
Any reference to "Getting to Yes" gets an immediate upvote from me. Great book. It has helped me in multiple negotiations throughout my career.
November 8th, 2023 at 3:51 PM ^
Logged in just to upvote you for truthing.
I find it interesting that one of the arguments used by the BT MOB is that sign stealing leads to injuries.
Hmm… the Illinois DC (now the HC at Purdue) had our signs last year when they severely injured Blake.
If the BT thinks sign stealing creates injuries perhaps Purdue’s coach should be forced to pay Blake millions for putting his future earning at risk.
Edited
November 8th, 2023 at 2:39 PM ^
If you had asked me a few days ago, I would’ve said the same—the conference needs to respect due process.
But now there is war, and they can go to hell. The only way to win the PR war is to keep fighting. I’m (as a lawyer) more concerned about the non-legal issues than the legal issues.