Michigan Commissions Outside Law Firm to Investigate Athletic Department

The Wolverines have dealt with numerous scandals in recent years.

Ex-Michigan coach Sherrone Moore's firing thrust the Wolverines' athletic culture into the limelight. / Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Michigan is employing Chicago’s Jenner & Block law firm to conduct an independent investigation into its athletic department, according to a Saturday afternoon report from Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel of ESPN.

The reported investigation follows the events of Wednesday, when the Wolverines fired football coach Sherrone Moore because he had been carrying on an inappropriate relationship with a staffer in violation of university policy. The staff member provided evidence to investigators, after both had previously denied the relationship. Moore then allegedly broke into the staffer’s house and threatened to kill himself, according to prosecutors, leading authorities to charge him with a third-degree felony and two misdemeanors. After surrendering to police, Moore was evaluated at a local hospital before being formally arrested and placed in jail.

Per Thamel and Wetzel, Jenner & Block conducted the initial investigation into Moore’s conduct earlier in the fall, but could not find enough evidence to confirm the relationship at the time.

The Moore affair follows a spate of scandals within Michigan’s athletic department in recent years, including the indictment of ex-football assistant Matt Weiss on charges of allegedly accessing female athletes' intimate photos, the firing of men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard after a strength coach’s highly public resignation that followed a confrontation with the coach and the firing of men's hockey coach Mel Pearson amid a bevy of misconduct allegations. That does not include the sign-stealing scandal surrounding ex-assistant Connor Stalions, which while far less serious in nature saddled the Wolverines with expensive NCAA sanctions.

Michigan is currently employing Domenico Grasso as interim president following ex-president Santa Ono’s May exit. Warde Manuel, the Wolverines’ athletic director, has served in his current post since 2016.

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