Update: Purdue has issued a statement in regards to the comments made by Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh on Monday. Specifically, Harbaugh took issue with the medical and locker room facilities at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium. Purdue countered by saying Michigan conducted a walk-thru over the summer and made no additional accommodation requests. Here's the statement ...
"Purdue regards the welfare of all student-athletes as its No. 1 priority. We would fully support a conversation regarding a conference-wide set of guidelines for visiting football team accommodations because we have experienced less-than-ideal conditions on the road. There is no place for gamesmanship when it comes to player care and safety.
"The after-the-fact concerns expressed by Michigan are somewhat surprising because a member of its football staff conducted a walk-thru of of our facilities with our athletic department staff at Ross-Ade Stadium on July 18.
"Furthermore, to help teams prepare in advance, our visiting team manual highlights in bold type 'there is no air conditioning in the {visiting) locker rooms" with accompanying Purdue Athletics staff contact information about how to request preferred temporary accommodations. We did not receive any such request.
"Basic X-ray is available within our athletic footprint and more-sophisticated capabilities are located two blocks away, similar to the arraignments at many other schools. Our sports medicine staff members, in fact, have received numerous compliments from their Michigan counterparts regarding the care they received at Purdue."
Original story
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is angry both at the hit that knocked quarterback Wilton Speight out of the game and the medical facilities that were made available to the visiting team at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium.
On Monday, he voiced his displeasure for what he called was an "egregious" hit on Speight and indicated that the issue of lowered standards in visiting locker rooms is an issue across the entire conference.
"I'm not putting this [all] on Purdue, this is league-wide. It needs to be addressed by the league, it needs to be addressed by the commissioner and we're going to lead the way," Harbaugh said, via the Detroit Free Press. "There needs to be a way to X-ray a player at the stadium. There needs to be a minimum standard of care for the players. We put a lot of emphasis on health and safety of the players, but it didn't even seem sanitary.
"I wish I'd have taken a picture of the actual table that was given to the visitors to put the players on when they're injured. It looks like it was from the 20s. It was ripped. Just not good. I think that's a pattern in the Big Ten."
Harbaugh plans to contact the league about not only the standard for medical facilities in visitor locker rooms, but also the hit on Speight.
"With all the emphasis on protecting defenseless players, it appeared that the player knew what he was doing. He targeted the head. [Speight] was on the ground, and he accelerated," Harbaugh said, referencing the second hit on Speight during the first half sack.
After Speight was knocked out of the game, he left the stadium in a van to be taken to a nearby medical center for X-rays and treatment. If Michigan were playing this week, Harbaugh said Speight would not be able to play. As it stands, the Wolverines have a bye and his status for the Saturday night matchup with Michigan State on Oct. 7 is undetermined.
