Paul Finebaum Accuses Jim Harbaugh Of Displaying 'Sociopathic Behavior'

ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 31: ESPN broadcaster, Paul Finebaum before the college football playoff semifinal game between the University of Georgia Bulldogs and The Ohio State Buckeyes on December 31, 2022 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Paul Finebaum had plenty to say about the NCAA issuing a four-year show-cause order to former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Appearing on Thursday’s First Take , the ESPN analyst mocked the ridiculousness of punishing Harbaugh after he left college football to re-join the NFL. Finebaum said the NCAA, by disciplining him for recruiting violations in 2020, gave Harbaugh the “death penalty” for “running a stop sign.”

To Finebaum, the worst part of the situation is the NCAA making Harbaugh a more sympathetic figure despite Michigan’s separate sign-stealing scandal.

“What’s so absurd is that the NCAA is letting Jim Harbaugh off the hook,” Finebaum said. “I mean, this is a guy who has lied and obfuscated. He’s displaying sociopathic behavior. But instead, everyone loves him. We’re wrapping our arms around Jim saying, ‘Way to go Jim. You made the NCAA look like the fools that they are.’ And that’s really the tragedy in this.”

Finebaum predicted that nobody would even know or care about these “stupid and irrelevant” recruiting violations if Harbaugh simply admitted his mistake and cooperated with the NCAA’s investigation. He fears this ruling will take attention away from the program’s in-person scouting operation, which he feels is far more newsworthy.

“The most important thing is, this isn’t the most important thing. The big case is yet to come,” Finebaum stated. “So I can only imagine how the NCAA is going to come down on Harbaugh for the Connor Stalions case. They’ll probably ban him from ever visiting the state of Michigan again.”

Finebaum still thinks Harbaugh “looks terrible” by fleeing Ann Arbor for the Los Angeles Chargers and refusing to apologize or admit any wrongdoing. However, he doesn’t believe the typical college football fan will care after Harbaugh led the Wolverines to a national championship.

“Jim Harbaugh won,” he concluded. “It doesn’t matter how many rules he violated. It doesn’t matter how despicable his character has been. It doesn’t matter how many times he has lied. He got away with it. And his statement the other day was basically the middle finger to everyone. And he’s living happily ever after out there on the West Coast.”