Eric Boggs
Sherrone Moore’s firing and subsequent arrest have pushed the University of Michigan into yet another crisis, prompting the school to announce a sweeping investigation into the culture of its athletic department. According to reports from ESPN and The Detroit News, Michigan has again turned to Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block, commissioning it to examine how the latest scandal was allowed to happen and whether deeper systemic failures exist within the department.
Moore was fired for cause after a staff member confirmed she had been in an inappropriate relationship with him, following an earlier anonymous tip that initially failed to produce enough evidence to substantiate the claims. That same situation escalated rapidly, ending with Moore’s arrest on charges including home invasion, stalking, and illegal entry after he allegedly entered the staffer’s home without permission. In response, Michigan asked Jenner & Block to broaden its inquiry beyond Moore and into the athletic department as a whole.
On paper, the move is being framed as a step toward transparency and accountability. In reality, it feels far more like a familiar attempt to manage optics. As discussed on The OHIO Podcast, this announcement plays less like a genuine reckoning and more like a public relations exercise designed to restore confidence among Michigan fans and alumni while doing little to convince anyone outside of Ann Arbor. For years now, Michigan athletics — particularly its football program — has been defined by controversy, not contrition.
Moore’s firing is only the latest entry on a growing list. The sign-stealing scandal involving former analyst Connor Stalions led to NCAA violations from 2021 through 2023. Jim Harbaugh and the program were sanctioned in 2024 for recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period. Former co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was fired in 2023 and later indicted on federal charges after investigators found he illegally accessed private information and images of female college athletes. Through it all, athletic director Warde Manuel, who has overseen the department since 2016, remains in place.
That reality is what makes Michigan’s choice of investigator so difficult to take seriously. Jenner & Block is not a new or independent presence parachuting in for the first time. The firm previously investigated Moore earlier this fall and reportedly failed to find evidence confirming the relationship that ultimately led to his firing and arrest. Michigan also hired the same firm in 2022 to investigate former university president Mark Schlissel, who was later fired for having an inappropriate relationship with a university employee. Returning to the same firm yet again raises obvious questions about whether the university is truly seeking answers or simply an outcome it can live with.
As noted on The OHIO Podcast, the expanded investigation appears to have very little to do with revisiting past scandals, uncovering uncomfortable truths about the football program, or addressing the broader culture that allowed so many issues to accumulate. Instead, the focus seems narrowly centered on protecting — or strategically parting ways with — Warde Manuel. Either the investigation produces findings that allow Michigan to say Manuel was kept in the dark, justifying his retention, or it provides enough cover to remove him without paying a buyout. Those appear to be the only two real paths forward.
Public statements from Michigan leadership and members of the Board of Regents about shock, disgust, and renewed commitments to ethics ring hollow given the length and consistency of the department’s issues. Promising transparency now, after years of deflection and denial, does little to rebuild trust among those who have watched these scandals pile up one after another. For anyone not wrapped in maize and blue loyalty, the pattern is obvious: deflect, control the narrative, and move on without addressing the root of the problem.
From an Ohio State perspective, this is not a redemption story unfolding in Ann Arbor. It is the latest chapter in a long-running saga of institutional failure dressed up as reform. Until Michigan demonstrates a willingness to confront its entire history of misconduct — not just the scandal of the moment — expanded investigations and carefully worded statements will continue to look exactly like what they are: damage control masquerading as accountability.
