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Michigan Football: Harbaugh Says Perry Has Been Punished

Grant Perry is back with the football team and practicing.
Grant Perry is back with the football team and practicing. ()

Michigan released a statement about junior wide receiver Grant Perry's full reinstatement to the team, and head coach Jim Harbaugh commented further Friday.

"The University and Michigan Athletic Department have closely followed the legal proceedings involving Grant Perry since October," A.D. Warde Manuel said in the release. "During this time, he has met every institutional expectation. Grant has served multiple team suspensions, missing two games during the 2016 season as well as the Orange Bowl against Florida State. He was suspended from all team activities in the Winter of 2017, including all of spring practice and the team’s trip to Rome. Grant was only recently allowed to participate in summer conditioning prior to the start of fall camp.

"We conducted an athletic department and institutional review following the conclusion of the legal process. Based on that review, we have determined that Grant is reinstated to full participation with the football team.

"In order to maintain his full participation with the team, and in addition to complying with the terms of his probation, Grant must continue to meet additional internal requirements from the university, athletic department and football program."

Perry only had 14 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown last season but brings some veteran leadership to a very young group. Harbaugh said he deferred to Manuel when it came to his player's full reinstatement, which came a week after Perry was sentenced to 12 months probation and 60 hours of community service following an incident in East Lansing last October.

"I support Warde and his decision," Harbaugh said. "It was never a good situation from the very beginning. None of us liked it, that one of ours was in a situation like that, But it is good to have some resolution to it. It's been investigated, prosecuted, adjudicated in a court of law. Everyone had their day in court."

Perry took a plea deal in June, and he won't have a record if he completes the terms of his probation.

"We've already suspended him pretty severely ... from games and time around the football team," Harbaugh said. "Just following athletic department and university protocol, that's all we did the entire time through.

"Warde did talk to me about it, and he talked to a lot of people on campus. He talked to many, many people on campus more [scholarly] than I. But I did have some input, basically, to support what he was thinking."

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