University of Michigan student Aiden Wolfson said he was taking a study break from finals when he saw the breaking news on his Instagram feed.
The ESPN notification was about Sherrone Moore, the former Michigan football coach fired for cause on Wednesday, Dec. 10, for what the university said was an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer. He was arrested that day and is being held at Washtenaw County jail awaiting arraignment.
Wolfson, 19, said he first thought Moore was fired for his performance, but put the pieces together after reading further reports.
“Initially I thought, wow, we’re too late to fire our coach. If we’re going to fire him for performance, we should have done this a couple of weeks ago,” he said Thursday. “And then I read what he actually did, and it all made sense.”
Another U-M student, Anthony, was initially surprised about the news since he didn’t think a 9-3 season from Moore merited a firing, but then changed his mind once he read another report.
“I was like, no way, another scandal,” he said. “You would hope that [Moore] is a good guy, or at least we had thought.
“I got kind of sad when I saw the police thing. … He’s probably in a crazy place right now.”
One U-M business student said he heard rumors about a potential scandal brewing in the football program after Michigan’s 31-13 loss to USC on Oct. 11, but that he initially brushed them off as not credible.
“[The rumors] were after losses, so you would feel like it’s probably some people just venting some anger,” he said. “So I didn’t really give it too much thought, and the I saw [the reports] happen.”
A few students expressed shock not at Moore’s alleged behavior, but at the university’s investigation and decision to fire Moore following the perception of a culture around U-M athletics perceived to flout rules and hide improper behavior.
“I’m surprised the university didn’t cover it up,” Wolfson said. “I feel mostly with these things, there’s an administrative tendency to sweep it under the rug or maybe pay off somebody. But the fact that the university followed through with an investigation, for once, is actually a good thing.”
Darryl Mobley, 33, a former athlete at U-M Dearborn, said the controversy surrounding Moore was “a repeat of history,” but that he hopes the University will use the opportunity to heal and improve the football program.
“As of right now, we most definitely have to stay together to continue to be a community and a family,” he said. “We are here to be able to not mask what is happening, but eliminate it fully.”
But even if the decision to fire Moore represented progress for some, others pointed out the negative effects it will have on the football program.
“It definitely takes a toll on us, because we just got our quarterback and our coach,” said Jace Withun, 19, an Ann Arbor carpenter and U-M football fan. “I just feel like we were getting our team together … and now we’re back at square one, honestly.”
The on-field impacts could be far-reaching, with the program undergoing a coaching search after many potential candidates have already been hired and a recruiting class that will be free to look for opportunities at other school’s following Moore’s firing.
For Withun, it doesn’t impact his overall fandom.
“I’m a Michigan fan at heart, always. Not green,” he said with a smile.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan students heard rumors about Sherrone Moore long before firing
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