Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has said he felt “betrayed” by the Sherrone Moore scandal — after an investigation discovered that the college’s former soccer coach had engaged in an improper relationship with his ex-assistant, Paige Shiver.
Moore was fired by the college over the affair, and confronted jail time after storming into Shiver’s home and allegedly threatening to kill himself following his dismissal — he was instead given 18 months probation earlier this month.
In a new interview with The Detroit News, Manuel was requested about Moore’s affair — and defined how the episode was “personal” for him.
Former University of Michigan soccer coach Sherrone Moore was sentenced to probation for stalking his ex-mistress. AP Photo/Paul Sancya
“I felt betrayed. It’s the best word that I can use,” he said. “I felt harm for all the employees and the student-athletes and the college, because it’s something that I had talked about, as it associated to the expectations of our workers in athletics and for the college.
“…I had known Sherrone since he got here [2018 when he was hired as an assistant coach], believed in him as a leader, believed that my staff is doing things the right way, and I felt hurt, and I felt betrayed by it,” he continued. “It was private, but it was also, I need to emphasize, for so many individuals that were affected by it.
“And it’s hard as a leader to have to enforce discipline on people that you care about and that you believe in, but it has to be done. There are a lot of people who claim to be callous, who say, ‘Oh, you should have fired him when the rumor was there.’ But you can’t just fire people on rumors with no evidence. So when the evidence was presented, it was a sense of betrayal and hurt for everybody who was going to be involved with a decision. Players, coaches, their families. Everybody.”
Following his firing from Michgan, Moore confronted up to 5 years in jail on home invasion and stalking costs. He pleaded down to the lesser crimes of malicious use of a telecommunications system and trespassing, in the end avoiding jail time and also being ordered not to contact Shiver.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said he felt “betrayed” by Moore’s affair with a staffer Getty Images
Asked about Moore’s sentencing, Manuel said: “I need Sherrone to get through this and to transfer ahead for him and his household, and so I don’t have a response to the sentencing itself, more of a response to him as a particular person.
“I want him and everyone who’s affected to be able to get through it, to move forward, and to learn from it and to be better. That’s the way I think about it. I don’t judge any of the outcomes or the things that he’s going through.”
Michigan changed Moore with Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham on December 26.
“I’m really happy he’s here,” Manuel said of the new coach. “He’s been a welcome boost to the household, and I look ahead to watching him do nice issues with the program.
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