Harbaugh slams ‘status quo,’ wants players paid
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Tom VanHaaren, ESPN Staff Writer
Jim Harbaugh opened his Monday news conference with a nearly 6-minute statement advocating for revenue sharing with student-athletes.
This isn’t the first time the Michigan coach has shared the thought that student-athletes should also benefit from new television deals, but it was his most direct. He told reporters that it’s time for a change and that the athletes themselves should benefit from the billions of dollars generated by the sport.
“We all should be about diversity, equity and inclusion. I’m calling for a system that is fair, equitable and benefits all involved,” Harbaugh said. “Don’t exclude the student-athletes from the profits. My opinion, you can’t say you’re about diversity, equity and inclusion, if you aren’t willing to include the student-athletes in revenue sharing.”
Harbaugh said he has brought up the idea of revenue sharing in 2020 and again in 2022 at Big Ten media days, and said he wants to be a voice for the student-athletes in speaking up about what he believes is a big change necessary for the NCAA to move forward and continue to evolve.
“We have to try to make it work, we have to try to make it better and right now,” Harbaugh said. “The current status quo is unacceptable and won’t survive. In my opinion, we capitalize on the talent, we should pay the talent for their contributions to the bottom line.”
His comments come as conferences are adding new schools in realignment and bringing in larger-than-ever contracts with TV networks. Harbaugh is also facing a three-game suspension to begin the season. The punishment was self-imposed by Michigan in relation to an NCAA investigation regarding potential recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period and not cooperating with the NCAA.
Harbaugh said he believes that it’s time for change and the NCAA can’t continue to move forward without treating the student-athletes fairly. He noted that when the players call it a game, corporate types call it a business. When athletes call it a business, corporate types call it a game and never come to a solution that benefits the student-athletes.
“I want them to be treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve,” Harbaugh said. “What I don’t understand is how the NCAA, television networks, conferences, universities and coaches can continue to pull in millions, and in some cases billions, of dollars in revenue off the efforts of college student-athletes across the country without providing enough opportunity to share in the ever-increasing revenues.”
Harbaugh said it’s shortsighted to think that paying players off of the growing TV contracts would topple the whole system and points out that major corporations, including Amazon and UPS, have adapted certain revenue-sharing models.
He knows he won’t change the NCAA through this speech, but said he is hoping to continue to move the ball down the field to when players benefit from and share in the billions of dollars they help generate every season.
“What I hope to accomplish today is sparking constructive conversation and timely action with and between the NCAA, conferences, coaches, universities, certainly a group representing the student-athletes, as well as experts and legal minds who specialize in revenue sharing,” Harbaugh said.
CLEVELAND — Shane Bieber promised himself after undergoing Tommy John surgery last April that he would be honest about his rehabilitation process.
Even though the Cleveland Guardians ace is going through his first setback, Bieber is trying to remain optimistic.
Bieber is in the middle of a seven-day pause from throwing after experiencing soreness in his right elbow following his first rehab start on May 31 and a bullpen session on Tuesday.
The right-hander was scheduled to make his second rehab start with Double-A Akron on Friday before being shut down.
“My mind went back to a very close buddy of mine said a few weeks or a few months back when I was starting bullpens. He was like, ‘Just don’t freak out. If you get a setback, everybody gets at least one,'” Bieber said before Saturday’s game against the Houston Astros. “I was hoping to be that anomaly, but at the same time, maybe it’s just part of the process and I’m trying to listen to my elbow and my body and do what’s best for myself and the team in the long term.”
Bieber will be checked again the middle of next week before the team’s medical staff and specialist Dr. Keith Meister decide the next steps.
Bieber threw 21⅓ scoreless innings in an Arizona Complex League game on May 31, which was his 30th birthday. The 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner faced nine batters, allowed one hit and struck out five while throwing 42 pitches.
“I’m a little frustrated with the timing of it as I get out here to Cleveland and join the team, but unfortunately, these rehab processes aren’t exactly linear,” Bieber said. “I’ve had a fantastic progression up to this point. A small hiccup, but hopefully we’ll just keep it at just that.”
Bieber — who agreed to a one-year, $14 million contract last fall with a $16 million player option for 2026 — appeared to be on pace to return to the Guardians’ rotation in late June, but that could be delayed until after the All-Star break.
Cleveland (33-29) went into Saturday 7½ games behind Detroit in the AL Central, and a half-game out of a wild-card spot.
Guardians starters have the sixth-highest ERA in the American League (4.11).
The Atlanta Braves designated nine-time All-Star reliever Craig Kimbrel for assignment Saturday.
Kimbrel, 37, made his season debut Friday night and allowed one hit in a scoreless seventh inning in Atlanta’s 5-4 10-inning loss at San Francisco. The right-hander had one walk and one strikeout and threw 14 pitches.
Kimbrel, who began his career in Atlanta in 2010, was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett prior to Friday’s game against the Giants. He signed a minor league deal with the Braves in March.
Kimbrel led the National League in saves in four straight seasons with the Braves from 2011 to ’14.
He ranks fifth all time with 440 saves and has a 2.59 ERA in 838 career games (no starts) over 16 seasons with eight teams.
Atlanta recalled left-hander Austin Cox, 28, from Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding transaction. He last pitched in the majors with the Kansas City Royals in 2023.
Also Saturday, the Braves claimed right-hander Jose Ruiz off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies.
The 30-year-old was 1-0 with an 8.16 ERA in 14 1/3 innings for the Phillies this season.
Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.
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