John Harbaugh refers to NCAA as 'judge, jury and executioner' while answering unrelated question

Updated Nov. 6, 2023 4:24 p.m. ET
Associated Press

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh hasn't really weighed in on the investigation his brother Jim is facing at Michigan.

On Monday, however, he offered a quip about the NCAA while answering an unrelated question.

John Harbaugh was asked about fines levied against NFL players for various infractions, and he said he'll occasionally make a call to try to find out some information.

“We want to understand how the league views it, also understand that there's a process that is in place to take a look at that. So it's not just one-sided,” he said. “It's not like the NCAA when they're just the judge, jury and executioner. It's the NFL, and there's a Players Association that has an opportunity to create some fairness, which is good. It's the way it should be."

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Jim Harbaugh is coaching the No. 2-ranked college team in the country at Michigan, but the NCAA is investigating the program for allegedly sending people to opponents’ games to record video that would be used to decode their in-game signals.

The school's president sent a letter to the Big Ten's Commissioner urging him to wait for results of the NCAA’s investigation before potentially taking action against the Wolverines.

Jim Harbaugh also served a school-imposed, three-game suspension earlier this year for an unrelated NCAA recruiting-infractions case.

Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald — who served in the same role on Michigan's staff in 2021 — was asked a couple weeks ago about the situation.

“I appreciate the question. I’ve been here two years, and I’m a Raven now," Macdonald said then. “Obviously, all our focus is on the (Arizona) Cardinals this week.”

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