Sports
8 — Wednesday, November 27, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Last week, as students tailgated 
before Michigan’s game against 
Michigan State, Psi Upsilon 
fraternity draped a bedsheet out a 
window of their house. The ban-
ner, ostensibly to offer up a roast 
of the Spartans, read: “You can’t 
touch us, @LarryNassar.”
 There are a lot of legitimate 
things to insult 
Michigan State 
about, starting 
with its on-field 
results against 
the Wolverines 
the past two 
years. But Psi 
Upsilon’s sign 
crossed a line, 
big time.
 The Larry 
Nassar scandal 
is one of the 
worst sexual 
assault scandals 
in sports histo-
ry. At Michi-
gan State and 
later with USA 
Gymnastics, 
Nassar, a trainer 
and team doctor, sexually abused 
hundreds of people. Multiple ad-
ministrators at those institutions 
covered it up for decades. It’s an 
example of large-scale institu-
tional failure, not an item in a ri-
valry. There are Nassar survivors 
at Michigan, and countless more 
survivors of sexual violence. By 
casually mentioning Nassar as a 
reason the Wolverines are better 
than the Spartans, Psi Upsilon 
diminished the experiences of all 
of them.
 Even top U.S. gymnast and 
Nassar survivor Simone Biles 

commented on the situation, 
tweeting, “unbelievable...../this 
is the type of stuff that makes me 
sick to my stomach/I hope the 
school is taking the proper mea-
surements in investigating this...”
 The larger problem here isn’t 
what Psi Upsilon did, but the fact 
that this isn’t an isolated incident. 
Three of Michi-
gan’s biggest rivals 
— Michigan State, 
Penn State and 
Ohio State — have 
recently had large-
scale sexual mis-
conduct scandals. 
And during rivalry 
weeks, you don’t 
have to look far to 
find examples of 
this same kind of 
behavior.
 There are the 
people who sell 
shirts outside 
the Union that 
say, “Liar, liar, 
Urban Meyer.” 
The person who 
commented on a 
“Michigan State respekt thread” 
on a popular Michigan blog say-
ing, “+1 for less sexual assault.” 
The tweets about not letting Ohio 
State’s record against Michigan 
distract from the Urban Meyer 
and Zach Smith scandal, like 
those two things are remotely 
equitable.
 Turn on any edition of “College 
GameDay” and you’ll see signs 
making light of rivals’ scandals. 
When GameDay was in South 
Bend last year for Notre Dame’s 
game against the Wolverines, one 
fan held up a sign that said, “I had 

a better sign, but Urban Meyer 
covered it up.” It’s not just Michi-
gan fans who do this, either.
 Those behaviors aren’t as public 
and perhaps not as immediately 
repulsive as what Psi Upsilon did. 
But they’re just as problematic, 
because in weaponizing these 
scandals — these failures that 
hurt hundreds of people — peo-
ple minimize them.
 “It minimizes the actual vio-
lence that they’re talking about 
in turning it into a taunt,” said 
Jessica Luther, an author and 
journalist who has covered sex-
ual violence in college athletics 
extensively. “What we’re actually 
talking about is violence and 
harm and often trauma. … It min-
imizes and even ignores that this 
is actual violence and that there 
are people in the stands who are 
fans that have to hear this stuff 
and are definitely victims of it 
and are watching that minimiza-
tion of it.”
 When you hold up a scandal 
such as Nassar’s alongside rivalry 
jokes like “94 yards,” the number 
the Spartans gained against the 
Wolverines in 2018, this is the 
message you’re sending: All of 
this is just a game. Michigan is 
better than Michigan State, not 
just because of those on-field 
results, but because the Wolver-
ines don’t have a public scandal 
involving a serial sexual abuser.
 But here’s the thing: There’s a 
reason the Spartans and Buck-
eyes are the Wolverines’ biggest 
rivals. It’s because, as much as 
Michigan fans hate to admit it, 
the three schools are similar in 
culture and demographic. If it 
happened at Michigan State and 

Ohio State, who is to say it won’t 
happen here?
 And, while Michigan’s never 
had a scandal on the level of 
those other schools, it was just 
five years ago that it came out 
that then-kicker Brendan Gib-
bons had been expelled from the 
school in 2014 for a sexual assault 
that had happened four years ear-
lier. It had taken the university 
that long to handle the case, and 
all that time Gibbons had a prom-
inent role on the football team.
 “(I feel) just kind of this fear, 
and maybe this is not justified 
… but I always think, ‘OK, if this 
happens at Michigan, or if some 
horrible, terrible person does 
this to people at Michigan, how 
will these same people react?’ ” 
said Anjuli Shah, a Michigan fan 
and alum who has volunteered 
with domestic violence shelters. 
“I hope they’ll react in the same 
way. I hope they’ll start admon-
ishing the administration and 
calling for all of these people to 
get fired, but there’s fear inside 
me that maybe they won’t, and 
maybe this is just another sports 
thing.”
 There’s a reason so many 
survivors of sexual violence don’t 
come forward, especially when 
athletes are involved. Nassar sur-
vivors tried to tell Michigan State 
and USA Gymnastics adminis-
trators about their abuse. Those 
administrators did nothing and 
kept enabling their abuse, kept 
valuing the money and medals 
pouring in above all else.
 When ex-Ohio State wide re-
ceivers coach Zach Smith’s wife 
came forward about her abuse, 
she had her character questioned. 

It came out that then-coach 
Urban Meyer had known about 
the violence, but it was only after 
public pressure that Smith was 
fired. Meyer was put on adminis-
trative leave but missed just three 
games — the equivalent of a slap 
on the wrist.
 The fact is, something like that 
could happen here. The Gibbons 
incident is proof of that.
 “I just hate the idea that you’re 
going to make fun of another 
institution for this issue without, 
especially if you think that’s be-
cause your institution is flawless 
and perfect, because it isn’t,” Lu-
ther said. “There are absolutely 
sexual assault survivors at Mich-
igan, just statistically, that’s really 
true, and it’s statistically true that 
some of the people who harm are 
athletes. Some of the people who 
get harmed are athletes.
 “I don’t know if there’s a right 
way to respond to another school, 
I just think you should always 
be thinking about the place that 
you’re in, that you’re definitely 
standing near a survivor of sexual 
assault, almost all the time when 
you’re in public, and that’s gonna 
be as true at your school as it is at 
the other school.”
 By making these allegations just 
another item in the rivalry, what 
you’re really doing is reinforcing 
the idea that sports are most 
important. When horrible, un-
thinkable things happen to rivals, 
fans’ first instinct is to turn it into 
another reason their program is 
better. Instead of thinking about 
how to help the victims or — 
better yet — how to ensure these 
things don’t happen in the future, 
they reinforce the very culture 

that causes this to happen.
 Michigan State kept Nassar 
around for so long because it 
didn’t want to admit it had hired 
an abuser. The Spartans covered 
up sexual assaults by their 
athletes, and the Buckeyes hired 
Smith, because those people 
made their on-field product 
better and that was the thing fans 
cared about.
 This is a culture problem above 
all, one that permeates through-
out the sports landscape. Fans 
scamper to weaponize anything 
that suggests their team is better.
 So, the next time you consider 
bringing up Zach Smith or Larry 
Nassar to a fan of one of those 
other schools, think about this: 
one in five women will be victims 
of sexual assault at some point 
in their lives, according to the 
National Sexual Violence Re-
source Center. Picture Michigan 
Stadium, packed to the brim, 
111,000 fans in maize and blue. 
Statistically, thousands of women 
in that stadium — and many men, 
too — are or will be survivors.
 Instead of jumping to the 
low-hanging fruit, think about 
them. Then, find another insult.
 The Spartans’ 94 yards. The 
Buckeyes’ 49-20 loss to Purdue. 
Michigan State’s blown 28-3 lead 
against Illinois. The fact that 
Ohio State tried to trademark the 
word “the.”
 While the chippiness of rival-
ries is part of the fun, there are 
some things that should be off 
limits. This is one of them. 
 
Gerson can be reached at
amgerson@umich.edu or on 
Twitter @aria_gerson.

Aria Gerson: Their scandal is not your rivalry

ARIA
GERSON

Michigan hockey uses tackling
dummies to mimic game conditions

 To open practice Monday 
afternoon, player development 
coach Steve Shields skated onto 
the ice at Yost Arena dragging 
two figures by the arms as 
he skated onto the ice. It was 
the second time in two weeks 
Shields was tasked with setting 
up this surprise drill for the 
players.
 He struggled, but eventually 
managed to bring the objects 
out from behind the bench 
all the way to the block M at 
center ice. 
 And the effort was worth it 
because Shields loves this type 
of drill. Standing on the ice 
next to Shields were two blue 
tackling dummies — the latest 
addition to the Wolverines’ 
team.
 While all the players were 
in the locker room getting 
dressed for practice, Shields 
was preparing the ice. When 
he was finished, it resembled 
something you’d be more likely 
to see at a Michigan football 
practice.
 At each end of the ice, 20 
feet in front of the net, he 
positioned the dummies in 
the center of the zone. Their 
purpose was twofold — provide 
a screen for the goaltender and 
block the direct zone entry for 
the offensive player.
 When the Wolverines took 
the ice, Shields and other 
coaches took their positions be-
hind the tackling dummies. As 
a skater brought the puck into 
the zone, a coach pushed the 

dummy in its direction, forcing 
the player to change directions.
 “We did that last year,” said 
Michigan coach Mel Pearson. 
“We’ve done it a couple times 
this year. It’s just to help in our 
shooting drills, you can’t just 
come straight down the ice and 
not have to think. This way you 
have to get your head up and 
make a move. Just change your 
angle a little bit and not come 
straight in on the goalie while 
he stands there just shot after 
shot.” 
 For the team, the dummies 
offer a nice change of pace. 
Rather than just skating with 
the puck and firing a shot from 
the top of the faceoff circle, the 
players have to think of their 
feet. The drill forces quick 
shots from less than perfect 
angles.
 Senior forward Nick Pastujov 
enjoys how the tackling dum-
mies create small, awkward 
spaces and force creativity 
to move the puck around the 
obstacle and to the net.
 “It gets you going,” Pastujov 
said. “Gets you thinking a little 
quicker. It’s nice on Monday 
when we’re doing a little less 
team stuff (and more individ-
ual). Get your hands going. 
It’s nice to get you working 
on some skills that you don’t 
normally do.”
 Beyond requiring Michigan to 
be creative offensively and play 
with more speed and urgency, 
the tackling dummies make 
practice conditions more like 
what the players experience in 
games. 
 Mimicking game scenarios is 
something Pearson has strongly 

pushed for in the midst of the 
offensive slump his team has 
experienced. The Wolverines 
have to learn how to take what 
they do in practice and use it in 
the game. They have to bring 
that same level of energy and 
creativity they’ve exhibited 
with the tackling dummies.
 “In a game, you’re not just 
going to walk into the slot and 
shot it,” said senior forward 
Will Lockwood. “There’s going 
to be a body in front of you. It 
definitely makes it more game-
like, and for those situations 
to occur in practice so in the 
games it doesn’t surprise us as 
much.”
 Last weekend against New 
Hampshire, Michigan exhib-
ited some of the exact skills 
that working with the tackling 
dummies pushes it to use. On 
the power play, there was more 
creativity. The passes were pur-
poseful. The shots were quick 
and from off-center angles. 
 And it paid off — for the first 
time in seven games, the Wol-
verines won.
 But even with last weekend’s 
success, Pearson still wishes 
he’d thought to use the tackling 
dummies earlier in the season 
before Michigan fell to last 
place in the Big Ten and hit an 
offensive slump. 
 There are still two weeks 
remaining in the first half of 
the season, plenty of time for 
the Wolverines to continue im-
plementing the skills acquired 
from their new drill. The 
biggest question is whether 
they’ll remember what they’ve 
learned in practice come game 
time.

MOLLY SHEA
Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO/Daily
Senior forward Nick Pastujov appreciates using tackling dummies in practice.

Collins sure to play major
role in Ohio State gameplan

 Joe Milton dropped back a 
full 10 yards beyond the line 
of scrimmage, rolled slight-
ly to his right and let it fly. 
The game was deep into the 
recesses of garbage time by 
that point, with Ohio State 
putting any intrigue about the 
outcome to rest long before. 
 So Milton had a go, flinging 
the ball 50 yards downfield. 
 That play, to the extent it 
even registers as a memory, is 
recalled for a glimpse into the 
arm strength of the then-red-
shirt freshman quarterback 
last season. Perhaps a bare-
bones hint of a bright future.
 On the other end of that 
dart was a 6-foot-4 receiv-
er, leaping over an awaiting 
safety, with another defensive 
back draped by his side. Nico 
Collins got up, tossed the ball 
back to the referee and quick-
ly shook his head.
 What was understood, and 
need not be said: Where was 
that in the 55-plus minutes 
prior?
 Fast forward a year, and 
it seems Michigan would 
be remiss not to learn that 
lesson, as it faces the tall 
task of knocking off the 
second-ranked Buckeyes. 
Collins, coming off the best 
game of his career last week 
at Indiana, will almost surely 
be an outsized part of the 
gameplan — presumably, 
before it’s too late.
 “Last year, it didn’t end 

well, like we wanted it to,” 
Collins said Monday. “And 
ever since that loss, we don’t 
want to have that feeling 
again. So throughout the 
offseason, our main focus was 
to not have that feeling again. 
We take it very personal 
throughout this whole build-
ing. And it’s that week.”
 Even in a game that will fea-
ture future NFL talent up and 
down the field, Collins’ skill-
set will stick out. Ohio State 
will likely line up cornerback 
Jeff Okudah on Collins for 
the majority of the game. 
Okudah, for all his merits, 
will be at a three-to-four inch 
size disadvantage.
 Collins, coming off a mon-
strous six-catch, 165-yard, 
three-touchdown outing 
against Indiana will be out for 
more in the most important 
game of his career to date.
 “A dude of (Collins’) size 
probably puts fear in a lot 
of cornerback’s hearts,” said 
senior tight end Nick Eu-
banks. “And one thing about 
Saturday is, I think he’ll do 
way better than what he did 
last week.
 “To me, I think it’s catch-
ing everything and blocking 
everything. Most people don’t 
see it, but he’s a big, mean 
dude. In terms of getting 
what he wants and getting 
what he needs. I think he’ll 
come through for us Satur-
day.”
 Collins’ ascension comes as 
the Wolverines’ offense has 
discovered an identity befit-
ting of the “speed in space” 

mantra that offensive coordi-
nator Josh Gattis espouses. In 
the past six weeks, Michigan 
has averaged over 38 points 
per game — spearheaded by a 
potent passing attack.
 His breakout game last 
weekend comes after a per-
formance against Michigan 
State that saw Collins reach 
the end zone on a 22-yard 
post route, when he elevated 
over a smaller defensive back, 
making a contested catch 
appear routine.
 “He’s catching the contest-
ed balls as well as you can,” 
said Michigan coach Jim 
Harbaugh. “Drawn a lot of 
pass interference penalties. 
There’s times where they’ve 
got to grab him because he’s 
behind them, so he’s getting 
behind them, getting separa-
tion on defensive backs and in 
the secondary.”
 To Harbaugh’s point, Col-
lins’ nine pass interference 
penalties drawn are good for 
tops in the nation, according 
to Pro Football Focus. Most of 
those calls have come on deep 
passes, as a desperate corner 
cuts his losses with the ball 
in the air. All year, he’s been 
a viable outlet when the 
offense has needed a big play 
down the field.
 Ahead of a game that might 
just be Collins’ last in a Mich-
igan uniform, it would stand 
to reason he’ll be a focal point 
of an aggressive offensive 
gameplan. Perhaps he’ll even 
get those chances before the 
game’s dying embers render 
any big plays meaningless.

MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor

MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Junior wide receiver Nico Collins is coming off a 6-catch, 165-yard, three-touchdown performance.

