Michigan Scandal: ‘Sign Stealer’ Incident

Connor Stalions is ready to tell his truth via Netflix about the Michigan football sign-stealing scandal he allegedly ran for years.

Stalions, who resigned his position as an off-field analyst on the Wolverines’ staff in early November, is the central character in the second episode of Netflix’s new season of “Untold.” “Sign Stealer” debuts Tuesday, which Netflix describes as Stalions sharing his side of the scheme “that turned him into a viral villain.” The episode runs one hour and 27 minutes.

“If I’m a bad guy, then everyone in football is a bad guy,” Stalions says in the trailer, which appears to show pictures on a computer of him illustrating how his hand signal would correspond to an opposing team’s offensive play design.

Here’s more on how to watch “Untold” on Connor Stalions and Michigan football.

You must be a Netflix subscriber to watch the “Untold” Connor Stalions documentary. The streaming service starts at $6.99 per month (with ads).

“Untold: Sign Stealer” debuts early Tuesday morning. Netflix original TV shows and movies are typically released globally at 3 a.m. Eastern Time, according to the streaming service. The episode is directed by Micah Brown. “In this sports documentary, Connor Stalions addresses the allegations surrounding the Michigan football sign-stealing scandal for the first time,” Netflix’s description reads.

Stalions is from Michigan, where he graduated from Lake Orion High School in 2013. Both of his parents are Michigan alums. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and is a retired captain from the U.S. Marine Corps.

Stalions was hired in May 2022 by Michigan football after volunteering for several seasons. But news broke in October about an alleged sign-stealing operation, where recordings were made in person to scout future Michigan opponents during the same season. Both acts are against NCAA bylaws. Stalions reportedly bought tickets to at least 35 games at 17 stadiums over the past three seasons. Twelve of 13 fellow Big Ten schools confirmed he bought tickets to their games using his own name.

In early August, Stalions was named by the NCAA as part of an investigation into the three-year period of purported sign-stealing, a Level I violation. The NCAA’s draft Notice of Allegations also confirmed evidence that Stalions wore Central Michigan coaching gear in disguise while roaming the CMU sideline and sporting a sideline pass at Spartan Stadium during its 2023 opener at Michigan State.

The NCAA has delivered its updated Notice of Allegations to Michigan in the sign-stealing investigation. Stalions has yet to publicly address the scandal outside of a brief statement when he resigned — even after he found work this summer as a volunteer defensive coordinator at Detroit Mumford High School.

News broke Aug. 16 that Stalions was working at Detroit Mumford as its defensive coordinator under new head coach William McMichael. Mumford is coming off back-to-back 1-8 seasons. The Athletic reported he was up for a job at Berkley High School first, but it got nixed.

In a bizarre scene Aug. 17, Stalions had McMichael deny media requests to speak, and practice was delayed six hours as most of the team stayed inside the school the entire time. The Free Press reported Stalions eventually sprinted out of the building past the six media members to the middle of the football field, “where he remained safe and sound away from media.”

Mumford’s first game is Friday vs. Redford Thurston.

Source: USA Today, Detroit Free Press