Michigan State athletic director Dan Bartholomae isn’t worried about Pat Fitzgerald’s middle finger. In fact, he sounded mostly pleased by the whole episode.
After last Saturday’s 38-37 loss to Illinois at Spartan Stadium, Fitzgerald apologized for flipping off officials, but Bartholomae said the first-year head coach’s edge is part of what the program needs.
"We are not sitting here trying to be choir children," Bartholomae said this week during an interview with The News. "And so, did I have a problem with what Pat did?
I did not. I did not.
"In fact, I appreciated that got the crowd riled up. I appreciated the crowd's response."
The moment came with less than 8 minutes left, when Samson Gash appeared to recover an onside kick for Michigan State. Officials ruled the Spartans offsides instead, a call Fitzgerald clearly disagreed with.
As the replay played on the Spartan Stadium videoboard, the crowd turned restless, Fitzgerald gestured toward the stands to stir them up, then turned back to the field and flashed the one-finger salute at the officials. The quick move spread fast online.
Fitzgerald addressed it Monday and apologized for the gesture, saying, “My mom is rolling over in her grave,” but he did not back away from defending his team.
Bartholomae said he liked how Fitzgerald handled the moment afterward.
"I think he handled it well," Bartholomae said of Fitzgerald's presser Monday. "I don't anticipate him doing something like that (the middle finger) again.
I think he said that himself. He recognizes he got caught up in the moment, and it was a mistake.
But, shoot man, I can rally around that fire."
Bartholomae said the two didn’t discuss the incident until they crossed paths at practice Monday. By then, the athletic director had already made up his mind that it wasn’t something worth dwelling on.
"I told him that had he not brought it up (at the press conference), I probably wouldn't have even said anything," Bartholomae said. "That's the kind of energy that I want.
"I think you have to have a little bit of fire in your belly."
The disputed offsides call couldn’t be reviewed, but Michigan State still clawed back to tie the game and force overtime. Illinois scored first in OT and made the extra point.
Michigan State answered with a touchdown and then went for the two-point conversion and the win, rather than settling for another round. The try failed, and the Spartans dropped to 2-4.
Bartholomae was on board with that decision too.
"I'm like, s***, I'm so glad he did," Bartholomae said. "We're going to be edge ... and be OK with that.
"Everybody's going to have to be OK with that."
Michigan State now turns to Northwestern, Fitzgerald’s former school, with kickoff set for noon Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
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