Chris Webber Says He's Received An Apology From Michigan AD Warde Manuel
After nearly two decades of friction, the healing between the University of Michigan and former Wolverine, Chris Webber, recently took a massive step forward.
According to Webber, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel privately apologized for the way the school handled the fallout after an investigation discovered that Webber had taken illegal payments from former booster Ed Martin. Webber would eventually plead guilty to criminal contempt in federal court after initially denying the charges in front of a grand jury - admitting to accepting more than $38,000 for what he described was a "loan".
As a result of his guilty plea, the University of Michigan banned Webber from having any involvement with the University for a period of 10 years, along with removing all of his accomplishments from the record books.
After nearly two decades of friction, it sounds like the University of Michigan is ready to fully embrace Webber once again. As the former Fab Five member prepares for his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, Webber participated in a series of interviews discussing his college basketball career - including some interesting dialog with Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel.
"I was told by the athletic director at the University of Michigan that he was sorry," said Webber. "And he wasn't even there at the time. He told me that he did his research and that he needs to apologize. His exact words were he needs 'to apologize to the 18-year-old Chris Webber because we didn't protect him."
For his part, Webber intends to release a book later this year titled "By God's Grace," where he discusses his experience at the University of Michigan - something he hopes will help everyone heal and move forward.
"I was the lowest-hanging fruit," said Webber. "I had the biggest name. I knew that then, so hopefully some of the things in my book will reveal what happened, how things happened, and hopefully just life can go on or it can get back to normal in that way. Hopefully, once we address all this good stuff, we'll get back to it."
We'll see just how serious both sides are about reconciliation in the days and weeks ahead, but it sure sounds like the University of Michigan is looking at situation with Chris Webber all those years ago through a new lens - one that will hopefully bring the former All-American back to Crisler Arena this fall.
