One week after the University of Michigan fired head football coach Sherrone Moore due to an alleged “inappropriate relationship” with a staff member, the university president warned that more terminations may be coming.
“We will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that conduct like this does not happen again,” Domenico Grasso said in a statement shared via Michigan’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, December 17. “Make no mistake. We will leave no stone unturned, and any further action we take will be based on credible evidence and findings, developed through a rigorous investigation.”
Grasso, 70, continued, “If the university learns of information through this investigation or otherwise that warrants a termination of any employee, we will act swiftly, just as we did in the case of Coach Moore.”
Moore, 39, was fired on December 10 after a university staffer allegedly came forward and admitted to having a personal relationship with the second-year head coach. He was arrested later that day after confronting the staff member at her residence, where he allegedly threatened to harm himself in front of her.
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Moore was arraigned on Friday, December 12, and charged with felony third-degree home invasion, misdemeanor stalking in a domestic relationship and misdemeanor breaking and entering.
The university has hired Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block to run an investigation into the Michigan athletic department, focusing on Moore’s firing, according to ESPN.
“Our focus is strictly on uncovering the facts,” Grasso said. “It is my job, my duty, to ensure the integrity of this investigation.”
Moore is the second Michigan head football coach to leave amid scandal in the last three years after the NCAA handed former coach Jim Harbaugh two show-cause orders that effectively forced him from his post. He is now the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
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“We will hire an individual who is of the highest moral character and who will serve as a role model and a respected leader for the entire football program,” Grasso said of the next Wolverines football coach. “And who will, with dignity and integrity, be a fierce competitor.”
Moore was released from jail on $25,000 bond and ordered to cut off communication with the alleged victim and to wear a GPS tracking device. He is due back in court for a probable cause conference on January 22.
“The evidence that is available at this time indicates that Mr. Moore had an intent to terrorize and harass the victim — which is the basis for the stalking charge,” Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit said in a statement to the Detroit Free Press on Saturday, December 13. “Given that his statements were those of self-harm, however, there was not sufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, an intent to assault or batter the victim.”
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Savit added, “As indicated in our release announcing charges against Mr. Moore, this matter remains under active investigation and, as with any case, we may add or amend charges as new evidence comes in.”
Moore faces a maximum of six years and three months in prison, in addition to a $3,500 fine, if convicted on all counts.
Moore married his wife, Kelli, in 2015 and they share three daughters. The couple were spotted with their youngest on Saturday outside of his lawyer’s office, just hours after his release.