Orlando Columnist Pens Scathing Piece on UM after Latest Scandal
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Michigan State is sharing a state and a rivalry with the most scandal-ridden football program in the country right now. The scandals have never seemed to end at the University of Michigan, and people are noticing around the country.
On Wednesday, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel published a column that dubbed the Wolverines "the dirtiest program in college football," in the wake of Sherrone Moore's for-cause firing. Michigan plays Texas in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on New Year's Eve, which likely prompted the column.
"Michigan didn’t just stumble into this mess," Bianchi wrote. "Michigan engineered this mess."
Bianchi cited that Moore ever being the head coach in the first place was a massive problem, since he was a real part of the program's sign-stealing scandal involving Connor Stalions. He was suspended for the Wolverines' games against CMU (who had Stalions on its sideline for a game vs. MSU) and Nebraska this season. Moore being promoted to replace Jim Harbaugh after he "bolted" for the NFL was the school doubling down, in Bianchi's eyes.
Michigan's Widespread Issues
"Now we’re supposed to act shocked that the same administration that minimized cheating allegations also waved off reports earlier this season of Moore’s alleged inappropriate relationship?" Bianchi wrote. "Michigan claimed it couldn’t verify whether the affair was real. Does anybody actually believe that?"
The timing of Moore's firing is certainly a little odd, especially since the relationship seemed to be considered an open secret for a fair amount of time. Apparently, Michigan was coincidentally finally able to prove it right after most of its recruits had signed and after a 9-3 season that was probably too good to fire Moore for, but not good enough to inspire confidence for the future.
That's definitely a little conspiratorial, but UM hasn't been operating in a clean fashion for a long time. UM acted like the Stalions scandal was no big deal (even though Moore felt the need to delete texts off his phone) and dragged its feet throughout the NCAA's investigation.
"That’s why the [2023] national championship feels tainted," Bianchi wrote. "Not because Michigan didn’t have good players — it did. Not because Michigan didn’t win a bunch of games — it did that, too. But because the institution made a conscious decision that how it won didn’t matter."
There's been more than that within the football program, too. Co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was arrested for computer hacking and downloading personal information of female student-athletes.
UM hired Shemy Schembecher, son of Bo, to a role on the football staff, but he resigned days later after people looked at his Twitter page and found him liking posts that defended Jim Crow laws. Harbaugh also committed other NCAA violations by contacting recruits during a dead period. There are even more examples, but you get the point.
It takes a while to explain every single scandal that has occurred within the UM athletic department in recent years. Outside the football program, too, issues include former basketball coach Juwan Howard getting suspended after he smacked another coach during a postgame handshake line, basketball player Zavier Simpson crashing AD Warde Manuel's family car, and former hockey coach Mel Pearson being fired after being accused of creating a "toxic" environment.
There is clearly a problem with the environment in Ann Arbor, and people at the top are not being held responsible enough. Manuel has been the athletic director at Michigan since 2016 and has seen pretty much all of this happen under his watch.
In a vacuum, each individual committing wrongdoings can be chalked up to the school accidentally hiring a bad apple. But when so many apples seem to be becoming rotten, it's probably time to look at the tree.
"Michigan’s reputation as one of the nation’s most respected academic institutions didn’t deserve this," Bianchi wrote. "Its players didn’t deserve this. And college football fans didn’t deserve yet another lesson in how power tries to protect itself.
"The cause of Michigan’s problems isn’t complicated. It isn’t bad luck. It isn’t one rogue coach or one bad decision. It’s a philosophy. And, quite simply, that philosophy is: 'Win at all costs.'"
This is not to say that Michigan State is some haven of moral good, either. There have been plenty of problems in the recent past, and the Spartans cannot allow themselves to be dragged into more scandals, too.
How MSU Can Learn From Past Scandals and UM
Let's just look at the schools' most recent head coaching hire. Pat Fitzgerald is deserving of some scrutiny regarding his firing from Northwestern. Yes, he did essentially win a lawsuit for wrongful termination. Yes, NU says he didn't know about the hazing going on. But his not knowing doesn't 100% absolve him of all responsibility. Not knowing is not as bad as knowing, but not doing anything, but it still doesn't completely wipe the slate clean.
Bad, traumatic stuff was still happening to his players under his watch. Fitzgerald very well might be deserving of the second chance he received, but people above him at MSU must ensure he doesn't make the same mistakes.
That's not to put up the "Blue Wall" and defend Michigan. It's more of a warning to Michigan State to make sure it does not do what UM has done. Ownership is important, whether it's the Wolverines or the Spartans.
Hypothetically, if Harbaugh truly didn't know what Stalions was doing, it still falls to him to have full control of his program, because he's supposed to be the one in charge. It also falls to Michigan's Manuel to control the totality of the Wolverines' athletic programs. If you hire somebody, you are, at the very least, partially responsible for what that person does, since you are the one who chose them.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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