Questions about Sherrone Moore’s judgment and mental state had persisted long before the Michigan head football coach was arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of a female football staff member and threatened suicide while holding butter knives and a pair of scissors.
An investigation from The Athletic published Monday revealed numerous red flags — including exchanges with women on Instagram beginning in 2020 and as recently as last month — that preceded the arrest and the firing, with cause, over what the school said was an “inappropriate relationship with a staff member.”
The Athletic spoke with five women who said they had strange or uncomfortable exchanges with Moore on social media. These interactions were raised to university officials by fall 2024 — early in his first year as head coach — two people briefed on the matter told The Athletic. The behavior was not seen to be criminal and was not known to involve school employees, according to the report, but it might have hinted at deeper issues.
“It was not sexual harassment,” one official told The Athletic. “It was propriety, ‘Are you an idiot?’ kind of stuff.”
Moore, who is a married father of three, reportedly reached out to the women through Instagram by direct messaging or “liking” a story they posted. According to one woman, Moore asked if he could fly her in to Michigan to see him. She asked about the expectations associated with the request and whether she would be “holed up in some hotel?”
“I guess we will have to see ! I would say yes but you would also have a driver haha,” Moore reportedly wrote.
“We will go into that detail later,” he wrote.
In his most recent known interactions with women on Instagram, Moore reportedly reached out to one woman shortly before beating Purdue on Nov. 1. The woman, who had no connections to the Michigan program, according to The Athletic, said she replied to his hand-waving emoji with a hello.
Shortly after the victory, Moore reached out again to the woman, who at first could not believe it was Moore and then congratulated him. Two days later, he reportedly put a fire emoji on a story that featured her on a stairmaster at the gym.
These interactions might have served as warning signs. Further concerns were raised concerning Moore’s mental state, according to the report, as he would break down sobbing in staff meetings and lash out at other coaches, program sources told The Athletic. In anoother incident, Moore reportedly was seen eavesdropping on closed-door meetings inside the Michigan football facility.
Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore
Ultimately, it was the alleged relationship with a staffer that prompted his downfall. According to the report, an anonymous tip given to the university’s human resources department led first to an inquiry and then the hiring of the law firm Jenner & Block to conduct an external investigation into Moore and the relationship.
After the arrest, Moore told police the relationship had existed for about two years, dating to his days as an assistant. According to The Athletic, one program source remembered seeing Moore’s car in the staffer’s apartment complex late at night.
Moore and the staffer also were spotted at a Michigan lacrosse game in spring 2024. According to The Athletic, Moore grew angry when a member of the Michigan staff warned him about the video of the two at the game and the appearance of impropriety.
