Over the past several years and months, the athletic department at the University of Michigan has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, thanks to some high-profile scandals. Now, it sounds like the university is finally taking action.
According to a report from ESPN, Michigan has hired Jenner & Block, a Chicago-based law firm that has done business with the school in recent years, to launch a full investigation into the practices and culture of its athletic department. The firm will be looking into how numerous scandals have both occurred and how the athletic department has handled them in recent years.
This investigation comes after the university fired head football coach Sherrone Moore for cause after discovering what it referred to as “an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.”
“U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately,” the university announced on Wednesday. “Following a University investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.”
Following Moore’s termination, he was then arrested and charged with two misdemeanors and a felony after he allegedly broke into the home of the Michigan staffer and threatened violence.
This is obviously not the first time in recent months that Michigan has been the center of a significant scandal.
Earlier this year, former offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was indicted on 24 charges of unauthorized access to computers and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors allege that Weiss ran a vast, multiyear effort to access the personal accounts of thousands of NCAA student-athletes across the country, specifically targeting specific female athletes to access personal and intimate photographs and videos.
Additionally, Michigan was involved in a high-profile NCAA investigation stemming from an illegal advanced scouting operation centered around former football staffer Connor Stalions that resulted in four years of probation and a fine that could reach over $30 million.
Clearly, it seems that Michigan is finally looking to take action on how these incidents keep occurring.
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