SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Wednesday his move to block Michigan’s spring break practices at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., wasn’t what you thought it was.
Speaking to AL.com, Sankey said:
“That’s the national issue and if I’m the only that is going to speak about it, so be it. But it is one piece of this conversation that we don’t need to further. In addition, we need to understand that it’s really clear when people do things -- push the boundaries -- others follow and I think it is all in our collective best interests to say out-of-season sports using, in this case, spring break for practice purposes, is not appropriate.
He added: “What’s unfortunate is people try to reduce this to simply a competitive issue, which it is not.”
To which the nation collectively rolls its eyes.
We’ll have to wonder whether or not Sankey would have proposed the same legislation had Jim Harbaugh moved Michigan’s practices to, say, Carson, Calif., but the guess here is he would not. And if the maize-and-blue made their southward trek during a school week, it’s hard to believe Sankey would have sat idly by and let it happen.
No, Sankey would have done what was best for his constituents, while Harbaugh does the best for his.
So while Harbaugh offered his side of the story on Twitter earlier Wednesday....
Question of the day: Does anyone find whining to be attractive? Just curious.
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) February 10, 2016
... Sankey said he would not respond 140 characters at a time. Which is both a smart move (for him) and a shame (for the rest of us) at the same time.
“I’m not going to reduce what is an important conversation to some childhood use of Twitter,” he said. “This is an important issue.”