A former University of Michigan linebacker who was at the center of the school’s explosive sign-stealing scandal is suing CBS for defamation, claiming the broadcaster falsely painted him as a cheating “rat.”

Joey Velazquez claims CBS News Detroit falsely accused him of lying to the NCAA about the scandal — even though the network never named him in the story.

Michigan football staffer Connor Stalions allegedly sent people to film hand signals that coaches of rival teams made during games so he knew what to expect when they’d eventually face off. The scheme was exposed by a 2023 NCAA investigation and cost the school over $30 million in penalties.

Velazquez — who played two seasons at Michigan, 2021 and 2022, before transferring to Ohio State for two more seasons in 2024 and 2025 — claims in the Aug. 28 lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court that the CBS outlet published a piece in September 2025 that made people believe he falsely told investigators that his ex-coach Chris Partridge told players to lie to the NCAA.

The outlet reported that the student-athlete was the same one who recorded a call with Stalions that was crucial to the investigation. It was already well known that Velazquez was the one who recorded that call.

But the NCAA never determined that Velazquez lied, and he denies saying that Partridge told players not to cooperate with the probe. The NCAA later cleared Partridge, who was canned amid the scandal, of this accusation.

Following the CBS report, Velazquez and his family received 5,000 hateful messages, including death threats, and were stalked by crazed Michigan fans, the filing claims.

Velazquez, who also played college baseball, also claims that professional teams lost interest in him.

Velazquez’s attorney, CBS, Stalions and the NCAA did not return requests for comment. Stalions has publicly denied all accusations against him.