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Jim Harbaugh makes case for paying players: ‘I just don’t know who could be against that’
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Jim Harbaugh made his case for student-athletes to be paid after one of Michigan’s offensive linemen suffered an ugly leg injury against Ohio State.
Harbaugh wasn’t on the sideline as he was suspended, but was watching as Zak Zinter broke his tibia and fibula before being carted off the field. It was a big blow to the Wolverines, who will now enter the B1G Championship Game against Iowa — and potentially the College Football Playoff — without one of their leaders up front.
The risk involved makes the argument in and of itself for payments for student-athletes, but the case exists outside of that, Harbaugh claimed. He urged his coaching colleagues to “use their platform and their voice” to make it a reality.
“Who could be against the players being compensated for what they do? At least even minimum wage,” he said, according to 247Sports’ Alejandro Zúñiga. “I mean, who could argue against that — when there’s injury or not. I mean, the emotional buildup watching it on TV: There wasn’t a commercial that went by, a sporting event that was played all week that you didn’t see those two teams and the buildup and the hype and the talk about players’ legacies and everything that could possibly be rolled into one game on the line.
“And then you see the amount of people that are benefiting financially from those players’ efforts out there. I wonder who could be against that?”
Harbaugh will return to the sidelines this weekend as the Wolverines take on Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game.