Ad Disclosure
Michigan State interim president blasts Big Ten’s $10k fine for scuffle with Michigan
Published:
Michigan State interim president John Engler believes the Big Ten’s decision to issue a $10,000 fine to the university for a pregame scuffle with Michigan last week is “absurd” and “egregious.”
On a pregame radio show Saturday, Engler blasted conference commissioner Jim Delany’s ruling and put the sole blame on the Wolverines for the incident.
“It was a setup. I think the whole thing was staged and the behavior just outrageous,” Engler said, according to USA Today. “The idea that Michigan State gets fined is absurd. The Michigan player (Devin Bush) that was out there tearing up the field, that seemed to be the single-most egregious act.
“I mean, blocking the players was dumb, the players as they did the march. But his behavior in front of everyone, trying to tear up the field and forcing our groundskeeper to come out and fix it — come on. I was told— and I haven’t been around very long — that down at the Big Ten headquarters, the scarlet and gray (Ohio State) and the maize and blue (Michigan) have a little status. And it sure looked like it this week.”
Here’s the video:
Already some pushing, shoving and yelling. Michigan players didn't get out of the way for MSU walk. Devin Bush screaming in Spartans' faces as they run back to locker room after this. Bush in yellow. pic.twitter.com/Us9GWyVQch
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) October 20, 2018
Prior to the scuffle, Michigan running back Devin Bush was seen ruining the Spartans logo at midfield hours before kickoff:
Devin Bush was ruining the Michigan State logo at midfield before the game. https://t.co/dx7GqdwplX
— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) October 20, 2018
“I think it is one of the dumbest decisions that I’ve seen. And I haven’t seen many decisions, but I’ve watched over the years,” Engler said. “But how is this possibly justified, other than the fact the game was held in Spartan Stadium? It’s like a penalty because we had the home field.”
Michigan (7-1, 5-0) ended up winning 21-7, dropping Michigan State to 4-3 (2-2) in leau of today’s matchup with Purdue. The Wolverines are on a bye this week.
Tyler has covered college football on a freelance basis since 2010. In addition to Saturday Football, his work has been featured on ESPN Radio, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, Cox Media Group, Athlon Sports, and more.