Skunkbear Signal Stealing Scandal

NorthDakota

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Haven't been following. Is the practice of stealing signs frowned upon or actually banned?
 

Plankton

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The title of this is hilarious, solely based on this MGoBlog post from last night:
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Language matters.

This is *especially* true in chaotic media environments where nuanced arguments are particularly difficult to convey. So to cut through the noise, not only should we wholesale dump the phrase, “sign stealing,” we should also broadly adopt a single term that both accurately describes the activity & also removes any sigma associated with it.

Michigan wasn’t, “sign stealing.” They were, “code cracking.”

THAT’S how this activity should be referenced from now on 100% of the time: “code cracking.”

People will still hotly debate the specifics of the methodologies used, the meaning of various NCAA rules, and how it applies to Michigan’s specific case of course. But as Michigan fans, what nobody here should endorse is people casually throwing around the term, “sign stealing.” Not only does it needlessly muddy what’s already a potentially complicated case, it also unfairly prejudices Michigan in the court of public opinion before the full set of facts can even get presented.
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GoldenAura

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/10/25/michigan-computers-sign-stealing-evidence/

“The sign-stealing investigation threatening to disrupt Michigan’s football season began after an outside investigative firm approached the NCAA with documents and videos the firm said it had obtained from computer drives maintained and accessed by multiple Michigan coaches, according to two people familiar with the matter, evidence that suggests the scandal’s impact could broaden beyond the suspension of one low-level assistant.”

“Among the pieces of evidence the firm presented, these people said, was a detailed schedule of Michigan’s planned sign-stealing travel for the rest of this season, listing opponents’ schedules, which games Michigan scouts would attend, and how much money was budgeted for travel and tickets to scout each team.”

It keeps getting worse and I love it.
 

stlnd01

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Bingo. This falls in line with exactly how people in these positions act. Lying in plain sight, gaslighting the ever living shit out of normal sane people.

I'm telling you, I believe you're right. I would not be shocked at all if that's the route they all end up taking. Harbaugh included.
I"m sure they'll try that to a point. But it's hard to pretend he's acting alone when the football program was (presumably) bankrolling the trips that cost 20 percent of his annual salary and he's standing next to the OC and DC on the sidelines during games for all the world to see.
 

mango4

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Haven't been following. Is the practice of stealing signs frowned upon or actually banned?

Figuring out signs in game? no. Scouting in person, recording the sideline and then matching it up with the game film? Yes
 

Luckylucci

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I’m not able to read that Washington Post article unless I sign up. Anybody that can, care to PM me the full article?
 

Luckylucci

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/10/25/michigan-computers-sign-stealing-evidence/

“The sign-stealing investigation threatening to disrupt Michigan’s football season began after an outside investigative firm approached the NCAA with documents and videos the firm said it had obtained from computer drives maintained and accessed by multiple Michigan coaches, according to two people familiar with the matter, evidence that suggests the scandal’s impact could broaden beyond the suspension of one low-level assistant.”

“Among the pieces of evidence the firm presented, these people said, was a detailed schedule of Michigan’s planned sign-stealing travel for the rest of this season, listing opponents’ schedules, which games Michigan scouts would attend, and how much money was budgeted for travel and tickets to scout each team.”

It keeps getting worse and I love it.
Am I the only one that thinks this reads like they got this off Weiss computer?
 

T-Boone

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Is that 13 bucknuts site forum ablaze with this story as well (other such big 10 forums) demanding something?
 

Luckylucci

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Don’t let my lack of internet savvy derail this juicy thread. But thanks fellas. I’ll look into that.
 

sfk324

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I immediately read it as that.


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The SI article published today claims there is no connection. But that then begs the question what other outside law firm has had access to Michigan athletic dept computers and servers?

ETA: it occurs to me it may be an outside auditing firm related to the recruiting investigation and the subsequent lack of candor that has been told to inform the NCAA of any other potential violations. But one would think such audits would involve review of documents and files during the period at issue and not just an open-ended investigation timeline.
 

Jimmy3Putt

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Before enacting their elaborate Astros + Patriots level cheating scheme Michigan was mid.

After the scheme, they've dominated the Big Ten. The only team last year they couldn't cheat for? TCU.

People pretending this isn't a big deal are crazy. There is a difference between trying to get a read on a team during a game and systematically breaking the rules to get an edge.
They probably had Georgia and Bama scouted.
TCU shocking the world getting in caught them off guard.
 

zelezo vlk

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They probably had Georgia and Bama scouted.
TCU shocking the world getting in caught them off guard.
Ahem


The opponents targeted the most on this schedule, these people said, were not surprising. Atop the list was Ohio State, Michigan’s top rival in the Big Ten, and scouts planned to attend as many as eight games, costing more than $3,000 in travel and tickets. Next on the list was Georgia, a potential Michigan opponent in the College Football Playoff, with four or five games scheduled for in-person scouting and video-recording, also costing more than $3,000 in travel and tickets. - Quote From Post Report
 
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