Sherrone Moore’s firing and its shocking aftermath raises tough questions about the culture of Michigan’s athletic department

By Dana O’Neil, CNN

(CNN) — In the past three years, the University of Michigan athletic department:

• Chose not to renew the contract of its men’s ice hockey coach, Mel Pearson, after an investigation found that the program had a “toxic environment,’’ including pressuring students to lie on Covid-19 contact tracing forms and verbally assaulting female staff members.
• Suspended its men’s head basketball coach, Juwan Howard, after he smacked an opposing assistant coach during a postgame handshake line.
• Fired Matt Weiss, the co-offensive coordinator for the football team, after campus police said he had hacked into the accounts of student-athletes, mostly women, to steal intimate photos. He’s pleaded not guilty to federal charges stemming from the incident.
• Investigated Howard – operating then under a zero-tolerance policy – after a staffer filed a Title IX complaint against him following an altercation about playing time for the head coach’s son.
• Benched its then head football coach, Jim Harbaugh, twice during the 2023 national championship-winning season – a three-game self-imposed ban by the school at the start of the season for recruiting violations stemming from the Covid season and three more at the end handed down by the Big Ten for his involvement in a sign-stealing scandal, of which Harbaugh has denied he was aware.
• Became the epicenter of a sign-stealing scandal that involved a staff member, Connor Stalions, posing in disguise on the sidelines during a game involving rival Michigan State.
• Was handed major NCAA punishments that included a 10-year show cause penalty for Harbaugh, fines that could total nearly $30 million and four years’ probation for the sign-stealing scandal.
• Fired Howard following the 2024 season.
• Went a game this season without its new head football coach, Sherrone Moore, after he was suspended for his role in the recruiting violations. Moore was expected to be suspended an additional game in 2026 in the wake of the Stalions investigation.
• Investigated and eventually fired Moore for what the university calls an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

Which begs a simple, yet critical question: Is what happened with Moore a serious, but isolated, incident or a symbol of a broader, cultural problem within the walls of Michigan athletics?

That is, in essence, what investigators from Washington, D.C.-based law firm, Jenner & Block are trying to determine. The attorneys were initially hired in October following an anonymous tip about Moore, who on Friday was charged with one felony and two misdemeanors after allegedly breaking into the home of the woman he is said to have had a relationship with and threatening to harm himself.

But sources with knowledge of the situation say that they are also delving into the procedures within the department, something that Domenico Grasso, the university’s interim president, alluded to in his letter to the Michigan community.

“All of the facts here must be known, so the University’s investigation will continue,’’ Grasso wrote. “I encourage anyone with information about this matter to confidentially contact UMconcerns@jenner.com.”

People associated with Michigan athletics have told CNN that they believe there is a cultural problem, if not of indifference certainly of arrogance.

“They are beyond zealots, beyond, about protecting the Michigan brand,’’ said one former employee. “Beyond it. It’s been so damn big for so long, and it permeates the whole place.’’

The ‘Michigan Man’ mythology

The university has long held itself in high regard both academically and athletically, giving rise to the very idea of the “Michigan Man.”

The phrase runs deep in the lore of the institution but gained traction in 1989 when basketball coach Bill Frieder announced he would leave for Arizona State after the season. Offended that Frieder would abandon his team, then-athletic director Bo Schembechler instead handed Frieder his walking papers, declaring that a “Michigan man will coach Michigan.’’

Steve Fisher was not geographically a Michigan man – he was raised in Illinois – but he had been on staff for seven years when Schembechler handed him the reigns of the team. The Wolverines won their only hoops national title that year. (Ironically, Fisher was later fired after he was implicated in an NCAA investigation involving his players and booster Ed Martin.)

Of the coaches enmeshed in the various scandals dotting the department in the last few years, most were Michigan men. Pearson, a Michigan Tech grad, spent 23 years on staff before becoming the ice hockey head coach; Howard was part of the Fab Five, Fisher’s trend-setting group of young players that went to back-to-back national title games; and Harbaugh played quarterback for Schembechler. Stalions coached there for five years and Moore for six, both getting their starts under Harbaugh.

It is worth noting, too, that athletic director Warde Manuel, who has been in charge during this spate of scandals, is also a “Michigan Man.” He, too, played for Schembechler.

In light of everything that has happened, the very notion of a “Michigan Man” is now under fire, with people questioning if a term meant to indicate a successful way of doing things is actually more evidence of an echo chamber.

The university’s response to the recent scandals has been more “prove it” than “mea culpa,” either drawing hard lines in the sand or moving slowly to act on alleged bad behavior.

When, for example, initially faced with the evidence of the Stalions’ sign-stealing scandal, the university fought back. While critics crowed about Michigan’s degradation of the integrity of the game, the university argued in a response to the initial notice of allegation that the sign stealing had “minimal relevance to competition.’’

And when confronted with the recruiting violations stemming from the Covid period, Harbaugh repeatedly lied to investigators, according to the NCAA, despite being shown text messages and even a receipt for a hamburger he ate at breakfast with a recruit that was deemed an improper recruiting benefit. He denied that he lied, merely saying that he didn’t recall being there.

Similarly, former volunteer coach and ex-Michigan goalie Steve Shields filed a Title IX complaint in 2021, claiming he was fired from his position for filing complaints about Pearson. That prompted investigators from an outside law firm to conduct an anonymous survey with players and staff for the University’s men’s hockey team.

As reported by The Athletic, players alleged that Pearson forced them to lie about contact tracing during the pandemic, called a player a “Jew” and failed to stop his director of operations from mistreating female staff members. The summary of the survey was completed on June 8, 2021, and a final report by the law firm completed on May 5, 2022. The school did not fire Pearson, only merely opted not to renew his contract, announcing the decision in August of 2022. Pearson promised to clear his name and said the accusations would be proved wrong, but no major reveal has yet come.

Howard, in the meantime, was fined and suspended by the Big Ten after being involved in a postgame altercation with a Wisconsin assistant coach in 2022, and told he would abide by a zero-tolerance policy for future bad behavior.

In December 2023, Howard and strength coach Jon Sanderson had to be separated after arguing about the playing status of Howard’s son, Jace. Sanderson, who had spent 15 years with the men’s basketball program, was reassigned following the skirmish and eventually resigned. Howard, who had been sidelined after treatment for a heart ailment, returned to the bench three days after the altercation with Sanderson and was only fired at the conclusion of the season, when the Wolverines finished 8-24.

Moore incident thrusts athletic department into the spotlight

All of which leads to the most serious situation, the one involving Moore.

Despite his own one-game suspension for the post-Covid recruiting investigation, Moore was promoted to head coach after Harbaugh left for the NFL. And the school again backed its head coach in August of this year, when Moore was handed a two-year show cause for his failure to cooperate in the Stallions investigation, but kept his job.

Sources say that the relationship between the married Moore and his co-worker was an “open secret,’’ on campus and within the larger sports community for the past two years. In and of itself, the relationship is not cause for firing but because the woman reported to him, he was, by university policy, required to disclose it.

Per Michigan’s Standard Practice Guide Policies, “the obligation to report an Intimate Relationship rests solely with the Supervisor. The obligation to prepare and monitor a Management Plan rests with the Higher Administrative Authority. Failure to comply with this policy will be subject to sanctions, up to and including dismissal from employment.’’

Both, however, denied the relationship and the university’s initial investigation went nowhere.

During Moore’s Friday arraignment, prosecutor Kati Rezmierski said that Moore and the woman had been in a relationship for “a number of years” until she ended it on Monday and – when Moore responded with a flurry of texts and calls – she went on Wednesday to university officials to come clean about the affair. Moore was fired that day.

How he was fired, however, raises red flags about the very concerns about how things are being handled at Michigan. A source familiar with the matter said that Manuel dismissed Moore without anyone from human resources present, and – while that is not required – it is standard behavior at most companies.

Manuel’s future is also now in question. The source familiar with the matter told CNN that the university’s board of regents held a call on Thursday to discuss Manuel’s future. He remains in his role despite reports he had been fired.

Regardless, Moore’s dismissal unlocked a chain of dangerous and frightening events this week, prosecutors allege. Upon being fired, Moore broke into the woman’s apartment and grabbed a pair of kitchen scissors and a butter knife, and threatened his own life, Rezmierski said.

“I’m going to kill myself. I’m going to make you watch,’’ Moore is alleged to have said, according to Rezmierski. “My blood is on your hands. You ruined my life.’’

Moore was arrested and jailed for two days before he was charged and posted bond.

On Friday he appeared in a small cinder-block room wearing a white prison outfit, his hands folded in front of him. He said little, sticking largely to “Yes, your honor,” while his lawyer argued on his behalf. He was later released on bond, according to his attorney and will be required to wear a GPS monitor and must not contact the woman or go near her residence. The magistrate on the case entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

A probable cause hearing is scheduled for January 22, only days after the college football season ends.

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