At the conclusion of the Michigan football upset victory over No. 2 Ohio State, the Wolverines did exactly as they did in 2022 by taking the Michigan flag and planting it at midfield at Ohio Stadium. But unlike in 2022, the Buckeyes weren’t having it, as they rushed the collected Wolverines, starting a series of postgame scuffles, which resulted in the police pepper spraying players, coaches, and media.
The postgame brawl wasn’t going to go unpunished by the Big Ten, and the conference decided to punish both sides equally.
The Big Ten Conference has determined that the actions of both teams following the Michigan-Ohio State football game on Saturday, November 30, 2024, violated the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy. Not only did the actions of both teams violate fundamental elements of sportsmanship such as respect and civility, the nature of the incident also jeopardized the safety of participants and bystanders.
As a result of these violations, the Big Ten Conference has issued an institutional fine to both the University of Michigan and The Ohio State University in the amount of $100,000 each.
The Big Ten Conference considers this matter concluded and will have no further comment.
Michigan’s complicity was simply planting the flag and then defending itself. Unsurprisingly, when another Big Ten school, Oregon, planted its flag at midfield at Michigan Stadium, not only did the Wolverines stand down, there was no punishment by the Big Ten. If Ohio State hadn’t retaliated in this circumstances, the situation never would have gotten violent, and pepper spray never would have been used.
So for both parties to be penalized equally seems to set a big precedent for any other teams that want to celebrate their victory in the aftermath.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Big Ten issues statement, penalties to Michigan football and Ohio State for postgame brawl
