Netflix fans in frenzy after new documentary about Michigan football ‘sign stealer’ Connor Stalions
Sports fans flooded X with reactions following the premiere of Untold: Sign Stealer, which featured fallen football analyst Connor Stalions.
Stalions told his side of the story about the University of Michigan board-stealing scandal in the documentary released by Netflix on Friday.
Since its release, X users have been divided in their opinions about Stalion’s antics, with one person even calling him an “arrogant liar” in their tweet.
However, many college football fans have come to his defense by praising his love for football and urging him to coach at more universities.
In addition to Stalions, his friends, parents and several sports journalists also gave their opinions on the sports scandal.
Former University of Michigan football analyst Connor Stalions told his side of the story in a new Netflix documentary about the infamous sign-stealing scandal
Stalions dreamed of becoming the head coach of the University of Michigan American football team.
Michigan hired Stalions as an off-field analyst after he left the Marines in 2022.
Stalions was fortunate enough to join the coaching staff during the 2023 season, when undefeated Michigan won the national championship.
However, the board-stealing scandal, which began in October 2023, led to the NCAA launching an investigation into the school’s football program.
The organization later confirmed that Stalions was at the center of the investigation and that he was accused of stealing other teams’ signals during their games, some of which he attended incognito.
He reportedly filmed the opposing team’s sidelines and later deciphered the coaches’ rules of the game.
A month later, Central Michigan University launched its own investigation after photos surfaced online of what appeared to be Stalions at several games.
All of his actions were NCAA Level I violations and after the school suspended the Stalions with pay, he resigned in November 2023.
In the documentary, Stalions claims to NCAA officials that he never did any personal scouting.
“I didn’t get any signals through personal scouting,” he said, adding that he couldn’t remember “sending anyone to a game” on his behalf.
However, he also admitted that ‘there were people who attended the matches with tickets I had bought and who recorded parts of the matches.’
Later, Stalions is confronted with a photo of him on the sidelines attending another team’s game.
Stalions holds up the photo and says, “I mean, I don’t even think that guy is looking at me.”
The University of Michigan hired Stalions as an off-court analyst in 2022. The sign-stealing scandal began just months after the Wolverines won the 2023 national championship
Following the investigation, the school also fired Chris Partridge, the football team’s linebackers coach, and then-head coach Jim Harbaugh was punished by the NCAA.
Stalions is still a Wolverine fan and is the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Mumford High School football team.
Despite violating NCAA rules, many believe Stalions was simply doing his best to help the team in any way he could.
Stalions fans on social media have called for him to return as coach, saying he is a “hero” despite his actions.
‘Connor Stalions cost @Vol_Football a national championship… But that man loved football more than I thought you could; so you can’t hate it,’ an X user tweeted.
Another X user wrote: ‘Cowboys should hire Connor Stalions to put on a 49ers polo and just walk around team turf while he loudly spreads gossip and rumors to add to San Francisco’s emotional demise.’
“I just finished watching the Connor Stalions documentary. I have bad news if you think Michigan has been put in a bad light because of it. That is absolutely not the case,” an X user tweeted.
“He was just smarter than everybody and Ohio State fans look like crybabies. Penn State fans too, but that’s just a constant, honestly.”
Several X users have either supported or criticized the former football analyst for his actions
Some football fans who criticized the former analyst after the documentary also spoke poorly of Jim Harbaugh, the former Michigan coach and current coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Connor Stalions is clearly a graduate of the Jim Harbaugh school of lying,” said one X user tweeted.
They’ve also called Stalions a “liar” and an X user called him the “master of persuasion.
Football fans have also generally denigrated the University of Michigan team, praising the Buckeyes for being a “better team.”
“Ohio State couldn’t stop the run in 2021, changed their signs for the 2022 game, and Connor Stalions was out of a job for the 2023 game,” one wrote tweeter.
“But keep making excuses to distract from the fact that Michigan is simply the better football team. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”