Mary Moffett, the mother of late Michigan University student Quinn Moffett, alleges that university police and the Michigan athletic director refused to hold a football player accountable for his role in the death of her daughter.
On Jan. 21, 2021, Moffett sent typed letters to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel and football coach Jim Harbaugh.
“I am writing to you as a mother who is grieving the loss of her 22 year-old-daughter,” Moffett wrote. “I am writing and tell you this, as a Michigan football player is partially responsible for her death.”
A detailed investigation by USA Today revealed the horrific account according to the mother.
Moffett’s daughter, Quinn, died in 2021 after battling depression two years after she alleged a Michigan player drugged and sexually assaulted her while two others watched and possibly recorded the incident.
“Moffett didn’t know it at the time, but her letter would land with the university’s Title IX office, campus police, the Ann Arbor Police Department and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office. They would all look into the allegations,” Kenny Jacoby of USA Today wrote. “Within about two months, all of them would drop it.”
According to records obtained by USA Today, the elder Moffett and Harbaugh spoke on the phone for 17 minutes. She told the outlet that she believed that Harbaugh believed her letter, and that he cared about justice in the case.
Harbaugh declined to comment, saying university regulations prevented him from doing so.
The CFB world was quick to react to the heartbreaking news:
Death. Taxes. Crickets in Ann Arbor.https://t.co/WckKiWox4J
— Brian Powers (@realpowersbrian) April 6, 2023
The story about Quinn Moffett is an incredibly tragic one and I feel horribly for what her family and friends have endured and continue to endure. Do you think it’s balanced and fair to close the story in the manner @kennyjacoby did?
— CFB Champs! (@runofthemillum) April 6, 2023
obviously huge trigger/content warning here.
i don’t know how you look at this AND michigan’s recent history of failing to protect sexual assault victims and *not* conclude that the athletic department needs to clean house. https://t.co/3OrJdSP0N5
— hip-drop seltzer (@seltzermom) April 6, 2023