Michigan football will no longer plant or run on field with team flag after games

USA Today

4 days ago

In 2022, when Michigan football beat Ohio State in Columbus, players went to the north end zone, grabbed the Block M flag from the cheer team, brought it to midfield, and planted it for a group picture and in celebration. When the Wolverines shocked the Buckeyes in 2024, the same order of operations was taking place, but this time, OSU players took exception, running to midfield and thus starting an altercation that ended in pepper spray being deployed.
Despite history repeating itself in terms of the maize and blue planting the flag, with different results of post-plant outcome, Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore says that it won't happen again.
"Oh yeah, we definitely addressed it, and there'll be no more flag planting," Moore said. "There'll be no more grabbing the flag. We talked about our new tradition, and what we do when we win a game is go meet the band, go sing (The) Victors, and stay over there until the other team departs, and that's how we'll operate. Shake hands after the game, show sportsmanship, be cordial.
"A lot of guys in college football know each other. All these guys, they're kids at the end of the day. They're 17 to 22-year-old kids, and most of them are friends. A lot of them talk before the game, so let them have that. But then, as a team, they'll be together as a team and then leave as a team."
There was quite a dramatic reaction, not even in the immediate postgame, with the Ohio State players rushing over to get in Michigan players' faces, but there was also proposed legislation from an Ohio state legislator making it a felony to plant a flag at Ohio Stadium.
Due to the graphics that made their way around the internet in the aftermath, Michigan edge rusher Derrick Moore was something of a poster child for the incident on the Wolverines' side. At Big Ten media days, he laughed that off, but he also regrets the way things went down, considering his role as a leader on the team.
"So first, I'm going to say I was one of the guys that was involved with it," Moore said. "A lot of people think I was trying to actually plant the flag. I wasn't trying to plant the flag. I was actually trying to run around the field with the flag. And as (I was) running around with the flag, I got pushed and things like that. So I ended up talking trash -- next thing next. The flag ended up coming off my head. And a whole scuffle turned out.
"But looking back on that, I probably got two views on it. I feel like I could have did a better job as a leader of not letting that get out like that. Pretty much just celebrating with my teammates and things like that. But at the same time, I feel like that right there is pretty much why people come to Michigan or Ohio State. It's because of rivalries and atmosphere like that. I feel like that right there is going to be a good lead going into this year again."
And his reaction to being made to look like a felon? Moore couldn't help but jest about the whole scenario.
"it's actually crazy. For, like, a whole month straight, they had a picture of me with the flag on the field. And they pretty much just said, like, criminal or something like that under the picture. And I'm like, bro, wow. I'm a criminal now just because I tried run around with a flag or flying a flag? I feel like that's actually crazy. But all I got to say, man, hey, that's Ohio for you. That's Ohio for you. That's all I can say."