Ex-Michigan coach Sherrone Moore agrees to plea deal; 3 charges dismissed

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore pleaded no contest Friday to misdemeanor charges of malicious use of a telecommunications device and trespassing as part of a plea agreement that included the dismissal of other charges.

Moore faced a felony charge of third-degree home invasion and misdemeanor charges of stalking and breaking and entering stemming from an alleged incident that occurred Dec. 10, the day he was fired. Moore’s lawyer argued that police omitted important information when obtaining Moore’s arrest warrant, and the plea deal came as the sides were set to present arguments at an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Friday.

“The dismissal of those charges validates the concerns we raised about the investigation from the very beginning,” Moore’s lawyer, Ellen Michaels, told reporters after leaving the courtroom. “Mr. Moore is pleased to put this behind him and move forward.”

Late Friday, two Chicago-based lawyers representing the Michigan football staffer at the center of the case released a statement that publicly identified her as Paige Shiver, Moore’s former executive assistant. The statement from lawyers Andrew M. Stroth and Steven Hart called on Michigan to conduct a “thorough and transparent investigation into this conduct” and “any related institutional failures.”

Michigan cited credible evidence that Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member when he was fired in December. Prosecutors alleged that Moore sent Shiver unwanted communication and confronted her at her apartment after his dismissal. Moore’s lawyer argued that police omitted important facts when obtaining Moore’s arrest warrant, including the working relationship between the two parties.

The charge of malicious use of a telecommunications device is punishable by up to six months’ incarceration, and the trespass charge has a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail, though Michaels expressed confidence that Moore could avoid additional jail time. The judge ordered the removal of the GPS tether Moore has been wearing since December as he awaits sentencing April 14.

In obtaining Moore’s arrest warrant, a detective with the Pittsfield Police Department testified that Heidi Sharp, Shiver’s lawyer at the time, told police Moore had a “long history of domestic violence” against Shiver. The judge hearing Moore’s case had raised questions about the police’s reliance on the lawyer’s statements and the omission of the working relationship.

Speaking in court Friday, prosecutor Kati Rezmierski said the investigation did not support charges of domestic violence.

“What we do believe the evidence supports is criminal misbehavior in the context of an intimate partner relationship,” Rezmierski said.

The statement from Shiver’s lawyers said the case “raises urgent and troubling questions about how a powerful figure within a major university athletic program was able to engage in years of inappropriate conduct toward a subordinate without meaningful intervention or oversight.” It also said Shiver “believes strongly that she may not be the only person who experienced inappropriate, coercive, or predatory behavior from this individual.”

The statement referenced Michigan leaders by name, including president-elect Kent Syverud, and called for the school to take “swift and decisive action” to “make amends for the University’s painful missteps.” Jenner & Block, the outside law firm Michigan retained to investigate Moore’s relationship with Shiver, is in the midst of a wide-ranging review of the culture and practices of Michigan’s athletic department.

“Our client was forced to endure years of manipulation, harassment, and exploitation by a man who held enormous power over her professional life as the head football coach of one of the nation’s most prominent college football programs,” Stroth and Hart said. “The power imbalance between a powerful head coach and a subordinate employee created an environment where our client felt pressured, intimidated, and unable to escape conduct that should never occur in any workplace — let alone at a public university.”

Friday evening, the Washtenaw County prosecutor’s office released a statement saying: “As with any case our office handles, the plea agreement was reached following evaluation of the factual, evidentiary and legal circumstances — and the overarching need for accountability and public safety. It is our hope that this resolution will ensure accountability and allow the victim an opportunity to heal and move forward.”

Moore, accompanied by his wife, Kelli, did not speak with reporters while leaving the courthouse. He has not issued a public comment about the circumstances that surrounded his firing after two seasons as Michigan’s head coach, including the allegations of his relationship with a staff member and reports of other interactions with women on social media.

Michaels said the plea deal would allow Moore to move on with his life and continue becoming “the man he wants to be.”

“He has had the opportunity to be with his daughters, to be with his wife, to be home for the holidays, to take his kids to swim lessons,” Michaels said. “As somebody who came up the coaching tree and became a head coach at a young age, that is something he missed out on.”

Michaels indicated the plea deal could open the door for Moore’s return to coaching in the future.

“Here is a man who has devoted himself to working hard to get where he needs to be,” Michaels said. “And I can tell you that this is a man who will continue his path and continue his journey, and he will do what it takes to get there.”

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