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Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel speaks out as a comprehensive review of the football program unfolds following Sherrone Moore’s firing.
Last year, an investigation determined that Moore was involved in an “inappropriate relationship with an employee.” It was later revealed that Moore’s former assistant was part of the relationship. The fallout from the scandal ultimately left Michigan’s top athletics officer feeling “betrayed.”
“I felt betrayed. That’s the best word I can use,” Manuel told the Detroit News.
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Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore appears in a courtroom in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Jan. 22, 2026. (Jose Juarez/AP)
Manuel said the situation struck a personal chord and had broader implications for those around the program.
“It was personal, but it was also, I want to emphasize, to so many people who were affected by it. … There are a lot of people who claim to be heavy-handed, who say, ‘Oh, you should have fired him when the rumor was there.’
FORMER MICHIGAN COACH SHERRONE MOORE PUNISHED IN PROSECUTION CASES ARISING FROM SHOOTING
Manuel appeared to dodge questions about who initiated the investigation — whether it was his decision or the decision of the Board of Regents. He also pushed back at how it has been portrayed and defended the programme’s wider culture.
University of Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore stands next to Warde Manuel, the school’s athletic director, during a press conference at the Junge Family Champions Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Jan. 27, 2024. (David Rodriguez Munoz/USA TODAY NETWORK)
“I was fine if that was the direction they wanted to go,” Warde Manuel said. “What I haven’t appreciated … is in examining the culture here. Regardless of how people want to feel, I want people to understand that 99.9% of the people here are doing things the right way. … We’ve had our problems and we’re not perfect, and I don’t know of any organization that’s without problems and human problems.”
Amid speculation about his own role, Manuel pushed back on the idea that he is under investigation.
Michigan Wolverines athletic director Warde Manuel walks onto the field before a football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois on November 15, 2025. (Ben Hsu/Icon Sportswire)
“I don’t see it that way, no. Look, it’s easy for people to say, well, Warde is the manager, and so this is not just a review, this is an examination of what the manager has done. That’s not, for me, what I want to take away from this. … And I’m not saying that I can’t get better at them. … and we’ve tried to improve our problems every time.”
Manuel declined to comment on Sherrone Moore’s sentencing, but instead expressed support and expressed hope that everyone can move forward.
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“I want Sherrone to get through this and move on for him and his family, and so I don’t have a reaction to the sentencing itself, more a reaction to him as a person…I want him and everyone affected to be able to get through it, move on and learn from it and get better. That’s the way I feel about it. I don’t judge anything that he doesn’t judge by.”
Moore faces up to five years in prison on home invasion and stalking charges following his dismissal from Michigan. He avoided jail after pleading to lesser charges and was ordered to have no contact with his former assistant.
Kyle Whittingham left Utah to replace Moore as Michigan’s head coach.
