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Michigan's Jim Harbaugh: NCAA prejudiced against football

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh believes there's a double standard for football compared to other sports when it comes to NCAA rules.

Harbaugh made the comment on Monday in Baltimore as he continues his tour of satellite camps. Harbaugh was told late last week by the NCAA to stop taking photos and signing autographs with recruits or their families at the camps because it's a violation of NCAA rules.

This didn't sit well with Harbaugh, who said "there's no doubt there's a prejudice against football," per ESPN.

"You were there, you saw what's going on with the changing daily rules," Harbaugh said. "It's very interesting. It's very interesting. The NCAA compliance people are here. They've been at every single one. The NCAA has sent at least one or two of their people to each of our camps and we've had one of our compliance people at each one of these camps. That notion that there's not oversight of these camps -- you've seen it with your own eyes, there absolutely is.

"Football gets the majority of the scrutiny and the rules that are intended to hurt the student-athlete and it makes no sense. That's why I'm pointing this out because some of these other sports aren't getting it."

Harbaugh cited lacrosse as a sport that is treated differently. He referred to it as a "white sport."

"White sport, rising, affluent sport," he said. "Recruit 'em in the eighth grade, dark period for a couple days in August and it's a totally different situation.

"It bothers us, but if it's a test of wills, we're going to fight for the youngsters and the student-athletes and their families and for the game of football itself."

Harbaugh has been at the center of the controversy when it comes to satellite camps. He's one of the biggest proponents of the camps, while Alabama coach Nick Saban is not a fan of them. When Saban compared the camps to the "wild, wild West" last week, it sparked a brouhaha between the two coaches.

As for Harbaugh's latest comments, football will be under the most scrutiny because of the attention it draws. As long as every football coach in his sport has to operate under the same rules, he's not operating under any disadvantage. And depriving a recruit or his family of a photo or autograph at a satellite camp -- while no doubt a bummer for the recruit and his family -- isn't quite the attack Harbaugh makes it out to be.

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