Sports Illustrated makes bold claim about Michigan football

This evening, Sports Illustrated ran a bold new article — one which is already being ripped apart on social media for its odd headline. Michigan football and Jim Harbaugh are already in the midst of an NCAA investigation due to the sign-stealing scandal, and now, may need to defend itself from a bold claim from SI’s Pat Forde.

Sports Illustrated makes insane claim against Michigan football amid sign-stealing investigation

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated ran an article this evening titled “Michigan’s Silence on Sign-Stealing Scandal Only Adds To Speculation.” Before getting into the claim that is made later in the article, it’s worth noting that Michigan, Jim Harbaugh, and anyone else involved in the investigation are NOT allowed to comment while the investigation is ongoing, per NCAA rules. In fact, the article even says so: “A Michigan spokesman said the school could not comment due to ongoing investigation,” it reads towards the bottom of the page.

Now, onto what was said in the article — this claim against Michigan football is bold, to say the least.

“Multiple sources from one Big Ten school told SI that a coach at a different school called them before playing Michigan to warn them about Wolverines ball boys on their sideline listening to play calls and communicating information to the Michigan sideline — holding the football up in one hand to indicate an expected pass, and in the other hand to indicate a run, for instance,” Forde wrote. “Sources at the school that was warned said they experienced nothing in the game to implicate the Michigan ball boys.”

A bold claim against Jim Harbaugh and his Wolverines, though zero substance is offered to back it

Now, first off, all of this is behind anonymous sources that are speculating in the first place, so none of this should be taken as fact. Additionally, Forde goes on to note that the school that was allegedly told this did not notice any of this happen, leading many to wonder why — aside from it adding some clickable juice to the story — would it be thrown in there in the first place? Will more come of this? Can it be proven that this was said, or that anyone thought this was going on? All of these are our initial gut reactions to this segment of SI’s story.

We may have more commentary on this new SI piece, as there is a lot to ask questions about and a lot to break down, but for now, this was the thing that stood out the most.

You’ve read the article — let’s both get rewarded! Download the Autograph app HERE using our referral code “bluebyninety”.

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 [email protected]. 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!