In Defense of Sherrone Moore
- Fred
- 16 hours ago
- 4 min read
Full Disclosure: I am a big OSU Fan. Both my Grandfather and Uncle graduated from Ohio State, I only graduated from Cleveland State.
Back in 2022, Boston Celtics Coach Ime Udoka was suspended for a year for having an extra-marital affair with a Celtics Employee.
I was stunned. No coach gets suspended for a year by his own team. Organizations either fire the coach, or stand behind the coach. I believe that the Celtics purposely embarrassed Udoka in the public domain so he would quit and they wouldn't have to pay him.
But here's the ruse, all these coaches are a bunch of horn dogs. After Udoka's suspension, Stephen A. Smith said this: “Because I got news for you, America. There’s plenty of white folks in professional sports that’s doing their thing. And I say that not complimentarily, I don’t see the information out about them. Why we talking about this now?”
Stephen A. was fundamentally right. If you're mad that your coach is getting down in a way you don't like, fire him, but don't embarrass him on the way out the door for something, probably, 33-50% of these guys are doing.
Ime Udoka is now a successful coach for the Houston Rockets, but I couldn't remember his name. So I googled NBA Coach Who Cheated on Wife, and his name came right up.
That is fundamentally wrong.
Last month, the University of Michigan fired their coach Sherrone Moore. I really didn't care one way or the other, but as an Ohio State fan, I didn't want Michigan to hire Alabama's Kalen DeBoer, I think that guy is going to win a ton of games....once he leaves Alabama. DeBoer's only crime is that he's not Nick Saban and, eventually, that will drive him from Tuscaloosa.
But Moore's crimes? When he was first arrested, it was leaked out that he was having an affair, stalking women, and had, potentially, up to 6 inappropriate relationships.
Moore was portrayed as quite the fiend. Where do you think those leaks were coming from? They weren't coming from Sherrone Moore, they had to be coming from someone at Michigan.
Then a month later, when all the dust settled, it appears Moore was having one affair, and that woman is the one who reported the affair to Michigan. When Moore was called into Athletic Director Warde Manuel's office, he was fired, with cause, for the inappropriate relationship. Moore, then, in a fit of rage, for he had been fired from his high-paying dream job, left the office and confronted the mistress. That's where all the criminal charges stemmed.
But if Michigan was 11-1 and in the college football playoffs, I believe Moore would have gotten off with a warning. But since they were 9-3, I think certain people at the university were looking to move on from Moore, for whatever reason. That is not a fact, that is speculation.
If you google Hall of Fame Coach Rick Pitino, he was also fired for having an affair as Louisville Basketball Coach. But if you read the fine print, Pitino was terminated for cause 14 years after the affair and 8 years after the extortion scandal related to the affair. Louisville didn't terminate Pitino until he had a folder of charges from the FBI.
I think it strange that a young woman walked into the AD's office, said she was having an affair with Moore, then Michigan terminated him a few days later. That is remarkably swift for any big-time Division I football coach. Remember, all of the alleged criminal activity took place after the termination.
Which, again, doesn't excuse Moore's behavior. I chalk it up to a crime of passion, but Moore doesn't appear to be some serial criminal and many of the first waves of accusations turned out to be false.
Your argument is that Michigan was investigating the charges for months? Then why didn't they fire him when Michigan was 9-2 and still in the conversation for the college football playoffs? There is no in between, either Michigan knew about the accusations, then sat on them to see how the season played out, or they found out and fired him almost immediately. If they fire him "for cause" they don't have to pay him and deal with where to find money for a buyout.
Now I could be wrong, and Moore could be some sort of deviant, but those Division I coaches work 24/7 from about June to the end of the season, I don't know how Moore had time for 1 mistress, let alone an alleged string of them.
So, as long as we're all in agreement, we are going to fire all Division I football coaches who have affairs, regardless of their race or their football record.
Oh, not so fast? Why is that?
I'll tell you what, I don't care what OSU's Ryan Day does on his off time, as long as he keeps winning football games and isn't under investigation from the FBI.
Does Michigan have higher standards than OSU? If you followed the Jim Harbaugh Scandal, you would know that's absolutely not the case.
I'm just saying, that Sherrone Moore appears, from my vantage point, to have made a very human mistake, and Michigan pushed him into the downward spiral. based on his win/loss record.
You think I'm giving Moore too much of the benefit of the doubt? Maybe there should be an investigation of Warde Manuel to see what he knew and when.
RIP Kevin Mackey:
In November of 2025, the best basketball coach Cleveland State ever had passed away at the ripe ol' age of 80. Mackey was damn lucky to make it to 80 considering what happened at Cleveland State-
What happened at CSU? Married Kevin Mackey was found in a crack house with his mistress by the local news. It was well-chronicled in the 2014 article Asphalt Junkie by Scott Raab. I highly recommend you read Asphalt Junkie, it is one of the best pieces of sports journalism you will ever read.
44 year old Kevin Mackey would never coach college basketball again.