For the last few years, Michigan and Ohio State have been engaged in a game within The Game, using the rule book as a weapon. Self-interested parties masquerade as virtuous ones. Right and wrong are not just character judgments; they are game pieces.
Michigan’s illegal signal-stealing scheme and the ensuing hysteria are another stage of an ongoing battle. Rules are supposed to be guardrails to protect the integrity of competition and the well-being of participants, but in many ways, major-college football is now a professional sport with an amateur rule book. This has created an unfortunate dynamic: Coaches can operate within the rules but outside the spirit of competition. They can operate outside the rules but within the spirit of competition. And they can weaponize the rules to use against one another.
Jay LaPrete/AP (Day); Justin Casterline/Getty Images (Harbaugh)
