'That's It?' - Fans Aren't Pleased With Penalties For Michigan Sign-Stealing Scandal
It's been two years since the Michigan sign-stealing scandal was first made public and the NCAA's Committee on Infractions (COI) has taken its sweet time coming to a final decision. But that decision was released this week, and fans are not pleased with the outcome.
According to ESPN reporters Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel, Michigan will be fined over $20 million taken from any postseason revenue earnings over the next two seasons. Additionally, head coach Sherrone Moore - had already accepted a self-imposed two-game suspension in 2026 - will see that suspension extended to three games.
"Sources: Among Michigan's punishments in the NCAA COI ruling, per me and @danwetzel: Michigan receives a significant fine, expected to be more than $20 million, from loss of postseason football revenue for the next two seasons. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore is given an additional game suspension, which is expected take place in 2026. The school already proposed a self-imposed a two-game ban for this upcoming season, which is slated for Week 3 and 4," Thamel wrote.
Everyone hates these punishments
Fans were disgusted by the punishment, not because they feel it's too harsh but largely because it seems way too small. The $20 million fine was laughable to most since the university has billionaire boosters and an endowment of over $17 billion.
"That fine is peanuts to them. If that's all there is, they got off pretty well," one user remarked.
"Geeze, BYU gets worse punishment for self reported violations. NCAA continues to be a joke," wrote another.
"Ohio State vacated wins from the 2010 football season due to NCAA violations. These violations involved players trading autographs and memorabilia for cash and tattoos, and a cover-up by the coaching staff. Michigan cheated to win games punishment should be WAY worse," a third wrote.
"The punishment is basically nothing when you have billionaire donors."
Michigan fans are laughing about it
After all of the threats from other fans, Michigan fans have been having a good laugh about how the punishments basically amounted to a slap on the wrist for them:
"Kings stay Kings. Champions stay Champions," one fan proudly wrote.
"What this really tells you is that the NCAA cannot prove anything because nothing happened. Its a BS allegation from a rival school that has done nothing to deter Michigan from getting better."
"Lmaoooooooo this is the hammer osu and msu fans said would come."
As much as non-Michigan fans may be pissed about the outcome, it seems likely that if the NCAA had sufficient, hard evidence that they would have penalized the Wolverines more.
The lack of a punishment strongly suggests that the NCAA simply didn't have the evidence to justify a draconian punishment.
It looks like this is one NCAA scandal that's going to be written off as a big nothingburger in a few years time.
'That's It?' - Fans Aren't Pleased With Penalties For Michigan Sign-Stealing Scandal first appeared on The Spun on Aug 15, 2025
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why Kalen DeBoer chose Ty Simpson as Alabama football starting quarterback
Alabama football's second fall scrimmage was its first with a starting quarterback. Ty Simpson, after being named as the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback days after Alabama's first scrimmage, ran the first-team offense Saturday, Aug. 16. And with a starter named, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said the Crimson Tide now has the time to start officially preparing for Florida State and the rest of the 2025 season. "I think building a team and getting the momentum going," DeBoer said When we knew, we needed to do it. That's allowed us three weeks or prep building up our team for Florida State." After the first scrimmage, DeBoer said he and the Alabama coaching staff "knew we were at that point where we felt good about who should be the starter." Simpson was named Alabama's starting quarterback Monday, Aug. 11 after battling for starting reps with Austin Mack and Keelon Russell. In the second fall scrimmage, DeBoer said Mack and Russell "did a great job, same as (the) last scrimmage." Simpson, DeBoer said, had a higher completion percentage, but not as many explosive plays, giving credit to the defense. "Today, I thought he came out and executed the offense," DeBoer said. "And he just continues to be steady. Finds his times to make his plays. Today, he actually used his feet again and that's, I think, something people will probably underestimate as we go through the year of his ability to just make plays and keep plays alive. I thought he was steady. I thought he was consistent." Simpson has the most snaps of any quarterback on the Alabama roster, having backed up Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe for this past three seasons. Simpson has 381 career passing yards, 130 career rushing yards and three career touchdowns. Alabama football opens the 2025 season at Florida State Aug. 30. Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@ or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Kalen DeBoer shares why Ty Simpson is Alabama football starting QB
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Richardson starts fast, Packers finish strong to rally past Colts 23-19 in preseason
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Richardson completed six of his first eight passes Saturday, leading the Indianapolis Colts to a touchdown on his first series before the Green Bay Packers rallied late for a 23-19 victory in the preseason. Quarterback Sean Clifford scored on an 11-yard run with 1:31 left to put the Packers ahead. Jason Bean then took the Colts to the Green Bay 31-yard line in the final minute before the rally fell short. While Clifford finished strong, Richardson started fast. He played nearly the entire second quarter and capped Indy's best drive of the preseason with Tyler Goodson's 3-yard TD run. Richardson also took advantage of a fumble recovery to set up the second of Spencer Shrader's four field goals. The Packers' only first-half score came on a 43-yard field goal to end the second quarter. They cut the deficit to 13-10 on Israel Abanikanda's 3-yard TD run in the third quarter, tied the score at 16 on Amar Johnson's 9-yard scoring run. Green Bay missed the extra point. Clifford's scoring run gave Green Bay its only lead of the game. Packers coach Matt LaFleur held out 29 players, including quarterback Jordan Love two days after the teams held a joint practice. Love had surgery to repair a ligament in his left thumb earlier this week. Malik Willis went 6 of 14 with 83 yards in place of Love. Clifford ran twice for 19 yards. But with Indy still trying to determine whether Richardson or Daniel Jones will be the opening day starter, coach Shane Steichen opted to use most of his starters into the second quarter. While Jones made quick decisions and was mostly on target, Richardson sprinkled some impressive throws and runs with some bad misses and questionable decisions. Richardson finished 6 of 11 with 73 yards, no interceptions or fumbles and managed to avoid any additional injuries. Jones went 7 of 11 with 101 yards. The Colts also lost their top two right tackles to injuries. Braden Smith, the starter, left with a groin injury in the first half. Smith's backup, Blake Freeland, was carted off the field with a fractured lower right leg in the second quarter. Abanikanda led a 159-yard rushing attack for Green Bay with 12 carries for 43 yards. Flagged While the Packers largely cleaned up the drops from last week's preseason opener, the penalty flags continued to fly. The Packers finished with 12 penalties, and nobody had it rougher than backup right tackle Anthony Belton. The rookie was flagged five times in the first half — two illegal formations, one false start, an unnecessary roughness and a face mask. ... The Colts finished with 11 penalties for 103 yards. Injuries Indy also lost rookie safety-linebacker Hunter Wohler with a foot injury, cornerback Johnathan Edwards with a concussion and linebacker Jacob Phillips with a bicep injury. Up next The Packers have another joint practice this week with Seattle before closing out the preseason against the Seahawks next Saturday. Indy visits Cincinnati next Saturday. ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NFL will not fine CeeDee Lamb after collision with referee during Cowboys preseason game
The NFL will not be fining CeeDee Lamb after the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver collided with an official last week, per multiple reports. Lamb, who was on the sideline in his street clothes for the Cowboys' preseason loss to the Los Angeles Rams, was bowled over by a referee while celebrating a play from his teammate. The collision occurred as Lamb stepped forward from the sideline, right into the path of a referee that was barreling down the field to follow the play. Lamb was assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the contact. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Under NFL rules, players are fined for any physical contact with officials in addition to the 15-yard penalty, with a $40,686 fine for a first offense, and a $81,374 fine for a second offense. It's not entirely clear why Lamb was not fined for Saturday's contact, but it's possible that the league decided to be lenient given that Lamb was decked in the process. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer addressed the incident in a news conference after the game, which ended in a 31-21 Rams win. "I hope the guy's okay, I think he's okay, the official that (he) ran into, but we have to be better than that. CeeDee knows better. We know better," Schottenheimer said. Lamb sat out of last week's game as Dallas rested most of its starting lineup. The Cowboys will play their second preseason game, and first home game of the year, on Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens.
