After the Wolverines’ 29-7 win, Harbaugh said two of his players were “assaulted” in the Michigan Stadium tunnel after the game. One of the Michigan players was defensive back Ja’Den McBurrows, a source previously confirmed to The Athletic, and Harbaugh confirmed Monday that the other was defensive back Gemon Green. “I come (at) this from the perspective of being a parent. These young men are trusted by their families in our program and we have a responsibility to each player to treat them as our own, and I take that responsibility very seriously,” Harbaugh said at a news conference Monday. “An apology won’t do the trick in this case.” “I can’t imagine that this won’t lead to criminal charges,” Harbaugh said, describing the videos of the incident — which were widely shared on social media — as “humiliating.” He noted that ABC’s tunnel camera captured additional angles of what happened. Four Michigan State players — Tank Brown, Cary Crump, Angelo Grouse and Zion Young — were fired after the brawl, the school announced Sunday. “The conduct we examined was both uncharacteristic of our football program and unacceptable,” MSU athletic director Alan Haller said in a statement Sunday. “On behalf of our university and athletics department, I have been in constant contact with University of Michigan Director of Athletics Warde Manuel and Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren, as well as members of our Spartans family, to apologize and to ensure our cooperation with the law. law enforcement as they conduct investigations into this matter.” GO DEEPER Fortuna: Michigan State gets embarrassed on a night that will have lasting effects University of Michigan police said Saturday they are reviewing video of the incident. Harbaugh said he hasn’t spoken to Michigan State coach Mel Tucker since the game. “I don’t buy any excuse that he’s going to get fired because of the rivalry or the tunnel or anything else that somebody could possibly blame,” Harbaugh added. “These are the actions of these individuals and they must be held accountable for them.” In a news conference shortly after Harbaugh’s, Tucker said the player suspensions would remain in place until the conference and law enforcement investigations are complete. He declined to comment on Harbaugh’s expectation of criminal charges. GO DEEPER Meek: Michigan State-Michigan postgame incident calls for reinstatement of rivalry (Photo: Rick Osentoski/USA Today)
