Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel says the decision to fire Sherrone Moore was an ‘easy’ one despite expressing sympathy over the turmoil in his personal life.
Married father-of-three Moore, 39, lost his job as head coach of the Michigan Wolverines due to an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a staffer before being arrested over an alleged assault in the space of a dramatic few hours earlier this month.
The disgraced football coach was charged with breaking and entering, home invasion and stalking after entering a woman’s apartment, confronting her and threatening to kill himself, before spending two nights in jail.
He was eventually granted a $25,000 bond and released. If convicted on all counts, Moore, who has pleaded not guilty, could face up to six years behind bars.
Michigan has already moved on after firing him, with the Wolverines unveiling Kyle Whittingham as their new head coach at the weekend.
And after hiring Whittingham from Utah, Manuel has opened up on the moment he parted company with Moore – which preceded his shocking arrest later that day.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel says the decision to fire Sherrone Moore was ‘easy’
Moore was fired as Michigan football head coach and arrested over an alleged assault hours later earlier this month
‘Listen man, it’s hard,’ the Michigan director admitted, via Detroit Free Press. ‘It’s hard when you have a colleague that is going through something personally, professionally, in his family and [knowing the] people and impact that it has on so many staff, student-athletes and the Michigan community.
‘Personally, I’ve known him for seven or eight years, so it was difficult to see him, as a person, go through what he went through.
‘But professionally, it was an easy decision to make because of the expectations that we have for everyone on our side.’
After Moore’s firing and alleged assault, Michigan brought in an outside law firm to review both the situation involving their former football coach and the athletic department at large, which Manuel says was partly his idea.
‘There’s not much I can say. There’s an investigation continuing into coach Moore, there’s a cultural evaluation around the department and so we will we obviously know some facts,’ he explained.
‘There’s some things that are out there that I can’t comment on, that are untrue, and there may be some things that they find, but that’s why we do an investigation, and I’m very open to that. Wanted the cultural analysis to be done to help us get better.
‘I asked the President to help with a cultural analysis and have somebody come in. So yes, I am very supportive of that, because as a leader, I face reality. There are things that happen. I don’t step away from it. Never have, never will. So we need to get better, and that’s part of is getting somebody to come in and to assess.’
The 39-year-old has three kids with wife Kelli (left), who appears to be standing by him
Manuel (pictured) did express sympathy over the current turmoil in Moore’s personal life
Police records show the alleged assault took place at the home of Moore’s executive assistant Paige Shiver, hours after Michigan had fired him over the ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a fellow member of staff – who is still yet to be officially named.
According to police dispatch audio obtained by Daily Mail, an unidentified 911 caller claimed he assaulted her on Wednesday, adding that he had a knife and had been stalking her ‘for months.’ A dispatcher was later heard saying that the suspect was described by his wife Kelli as ‘suicidal’ after losing his job earlier in the day.
Pittsfield, Michigan police and Washtenaw County prosecutors alleged the uninvited Moore was unarmed when he entered an unlocked door before allegedly grabbing two butter knives and a pair of scissors while threatening to harm himself.
‘I’m going to kill myself,’ he told the alleged victim, as quoted by assistant prosecutor Kati Rezmierski on Friday. ‘I’m going to make you watch. My blood is on your hands. You ruined my life.’
Rezmierski said Moore and the woman had been engaged in an ‘intimate relationship’ for a number of years. Magistrate Odetalla M. Odetalla forbid the court from identifying the alleged victim, but the 911 call that led to his arrest was made from an apartment belonging to Shiver.
