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.