Warde Manuel calls postgame melee ‘completely and utterly unacceptable’

Following reports of a post-game scuffle in the tunnel of Michigan Stadium, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel gave a brief yet stark statement to assembled media during the press conference of coach Jim Harbaugh.

During his two minute statement, Manuel called the situation “completely and utterly unacceptable”, and shared the matter has been referred to the Big Ten Conference and local law enforcement.

“What happened after the game is completely unacceptable,” Manuel said. “I have talked to the commissioner, he is looking into it. We have the police also looking into it and it’s because they’ve seen the video, and so they’re addressing it. We’ll leave it in their hands, but this is not how we should interact after the game.”

“This is not the way another team should grab the player and do what they did,” Manuel continued. “It’s completely and utterly unacceptable. We will let the Big Ten and law enforcement handle it, but this is not what a rivalry should be about. It’s not how it should be remembered. We won on the field — [Jim Harbaugh] and his team, and those players, went out there and won, and for that to happen is unacceptable. That’s all I’m gonna say, I’ll leave it to [Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren] and the law enforcement to handle it from here on out.”

As of press time, the Big Ten nor any law enforcement agency have made public comments on the matter. This is an ongoing story and updates will be made available as we receive them.