ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Jim Harbaugh stood behind a lectern and delivered prepared remarks Monday, kicking off a week in which he will either lose another opportunity to coach No. 2 Michigan or win a hearing to at least temporarily lift the Big Ten’s penalty against him for a sign-stealing scheme.
Harbaugh shared his take on various topics, including reversing his previously held dislike for chickens, but said he would save his opinions on the conference’s punishment for his day in court, which comes Friday.
“I’m just looking for that opportunity, due process,” Harbaugh said at his weekly news conference. “I’m not looking for special treatment. I’m not looking for a popularity contest. I’m just looking for the merit for what the case is.”
The Big Ten’s case against the Harbaugh-led Wolverines is that they violated the conference’s sportsmanship policy by conducting “an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years” that resulted in “an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition.”
Harbaugh said that when the Big Ten handed down its discipline, suspending him for the final three games of the regular season, he was informed via social media, which he saw on someone else’s phone during a flight Friday to Penn State.