Michigan football: Jim Harbaugh’s lawyer grills the NCAA once again

It was an eventful weekend for Michigan football and its 9th-year head coach, Jim Harbaugh, to say the least. The NCAA, which had been pushing for a four-game suspension of Harbaugh, gunned down its own proposal and will now drag all of this ‘Burgergate’ talk into next year. Soon after this was announced, the NCAA released an official statement, one that was quickly responded to by Jim Harbaugh’s lawyer, Tom Mars. Shortly after his initial response, Mars pointed out another detail — the NCAA’s official statement went against its own rules.

Michigan football, Jim Harbaugh get another shot in against the NCAA by way of Tom Mars Twitter response

Tom Mars has gained quite a reputation, one which continues to grow during his defense of Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh. Right now, the NCAA is pushing Harbaugh’s case into next year and will allow the committee of infractions to review it, potentially resulting in a suspension longer than four games. Regardless, Harbaugh is free to coach the entire 2023 season, for now.

When the NCAA issued an official statement on its case against Jim Harbaugh and Michigan football, Tom Mars fired back immediately and was clearly furious that they were allowed to comment while Harbaugh’s part was not. Well, as it turns out, the NCAA wasn’t allowed to comment either, as Mars swiftly pointed out.

“Not a forbidden comment about any particular NCAA enforcement case,” Tom Mars wrote in a tweet (below). “Just some information about the NCAA’s Bylaws and internal rules regarding public comments by the COI and the parties to a pending NCAA matter while the case is being adjudicated.”

Not a forbidden comment about any particular NCAA enforcement case. Just some information about the NCAA’s Bylaws and internal rules regarding public comments by the COI and the parties to a pending NCAA matter while the case is being adjudicated. #NCAA https://t.co/AU62PR8O9G pic.twitter.com/Oh0vdSX7Mi

— Tom Mars (@TomMarsLaw) August 13, 2023

Here is an excerpt from the bylaws that Mars mentioned: “THE COMMITTEE ON INFRACTIONS (COI) AND THE INFRACTIONS APPEALS COMMITTEE SHALL NOT MAKE PUBLIC DISCLOSURES ABOUT A PENDING CASE UNTIL THE CASE HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PRESCRIBED PROCEDURES. However, if information concerning a case is made public, the parties [NOT THE COI] may confirm, correct or deny the information made public.”

So, in yet another foolish attempt to get the upper hand against Michigan football and head coach Jim Harbaugh, the NCAA was once again gunned down by Tom Mars. This time, though, it was for violating its own rules.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics and Big Ten content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Publisher at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest-growing and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!