Lost $6 Million Job, But Ex-Michigan Coach Might Not Lose His Freedom Or His Wife

00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks, it is Friday, March sixth, and he lost one of the most prestigious jobs and all of college sports. But hey, at least he's not going to jail. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Robes. This is a kind of a thud of a conclusion to watch what was a really explosive story out of the University of Michigan.

00:00:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, this made crazy headlines everywhere when Sharon Moore the details that were coming out that an affair was exposed. He was in his ex girlfriend's kitchen with a butter knife, saying you ruin my life. My blood is on your hands. He's charged, he's arrested. He's a married father of three. Today he walks into court hand in hand with his wife, and most of us are expecting an evidentiary hearing today. But that is not what happened.

00:01:13
Speaker 1: No, you said he walked into court holding hands with his wife. He walked out of court almost a free man. Now, it's not guaranteed and not assured, but by all accounts and all illegal experts, they do not think ex Michigan coach Sharan Moore will spend a single moment in jail. So let's tell you what happened today. Rose this story, I remind me of the month when did this.

00:01:39
Speaker 2: Code OWNCEM tenth All?

00:01:41
Speaker 1: Right, So this just went down at the conclusion of the college football season. University of Michigan head coach Sharon Moore, thirty seven years oh in his second year doing gangbusters at Michigan.

00:01:57
Speaker 2: Multimillion dollar contract, six.

00:01:59
Speaker 1: Million a year. He's winning, he's just getting started. He has his whole life and career, quite frankly, ropes. He has set up for success for decades in his career and then boom, all of a sudden, I don't know where we started getting breaking news headlines in December. What the hell is going on? Because this wasn't just a matter of headlines of coach caught an affair. No, no, no, no. This was like a dangerous situation for a while in which he got arrested and quite frankly, he was sent to the hospital for a mental evaluation.

00:02:34
Speaker 2: Yes, it's one thing to have an affair exposed with the staffer. The staffer who he was reportedly having an affair with was his own executive assistant, a thirty two year old blonde hair, blue eyed assistant. Her name was Paige, and apparently, according to all the headlines that came out, she broke up with him. He went, well, he got up set. I was gonna say crazy, but I didn't want to. Okay, fine, he got really emotional, let's just say that. And he reportedly barged into her home, grabbed a butter knife and maybe even a pair of kitchen scissors from some reports, and threatened his own life. He wasn't threatening her again with a butter knife.

00:03:23
Speaker 1: I have clear There is nowhere I have ever read that he was threatening this woman. Is that correct?

00:03:28
Speaker 2: You have? Any report that I have seen was only that he came into her home, maybe perhaps unwanted, so perhaps she didn't want him in her home. He barged into her home and threatened himself, threatened his own life because she had broken up with him and wasn't returning his texts, and reportedly he told her my blood is on your hands. You ruined my life because he went straight from being let go as the head coach because she went. Reportedly she went to the university. She said, he is harassing me. Okay, that's so good, harassing me online.

00:04:04
Speaker 1: This all got started because she went to the university, not because she went to police for any reason. So this was not a police matter. This was a matter of her going to the university, which at that point was going to cost him his job one.

00:04:15
Speaker 2: Hundred percent, and she knew that, so she went to the university basically said, yeah, we've been having an affair for two years. I broke up with him and he can't handle it. He's now harassing me on texts, and she tells the university reportedly shows the university some of the texts so much so that they feel very confident calling him then into the office and saying you're fired. And then that is when reportedly he went to her residence and said you ruined my life and threatened his own life.

00:04:44
Speaker 1: And that's when police were called and this became a police incident. There were I still conceive vividly that image of him sitting in the police in that little box, if you will, and that police in that prison or jail uniform, if you will. But they took him away and put him to a mental evaluation robes. They were concerned about him hurting himself. This was this wasn't a fall from grace. This was a dump from grace. He went from the Michigan coach to being out of a job to being in jail in the blink of an eye.

00:05:21
Speaker 2: And the charges that he was initially charged with. If he had been convicted, he would have spent more than half a decade behind bars. So these were serious charges. He was looking at at least five years in prison, which would have obviously been devastating. We mentioned he has three young daughters, he is married. He had one of the most enviable positions in all of college football coaching.

00:05:48
Speaker 1: Would you not say, I'm trying to think it's hard rope to keep thinking of a job more prestigious than this. You could talk about Alabama, you could talk about Ohio State, you could talk about Texas, and you even think about college basket maybe Duke. Maybe you try to think of a more prestigious job. And all of coaching, not just even all of college You could argue all of coaching robes. This is a job that you just don't fall into. This is a job that is the it's the top of the heap and robes. He was doing well at it, right, he was doing well, and so this is a thirty four Excuse me, thirty seven year old. This is the young guy to get in that spot, Robes and so all of us at the time, even if you weren't familiar with him. People get Michigan football, correct, you understand what that rights. So that's why this became such a big story at the time. And trying to understand you, first thing, he gave all this up for what. He threw this all away for what. And we're trying to understand this story and quite frankly, ropes, I don't have a good handle on it. I still don't.

00:06:55
Speaker 2: But if you're not going to prison, no, and thank goodness. But look the why again, we've talked about it, so we'll probably keep talking about this on this podcast. We always want to know the why. The why is never ever satisfactory. But look, here is the deal. And look, we should point out actually going into this evidentiary hearing. This hearing had been called because his attorneys were upset at the process. They basically said, hey, wait a minute, police made the jump to arrest our client and then prosecutors jumped to charge our client, all based on this woman and her attorney calling nine to one one. But certain factors weren't considered when making or bringing these charges.

00:07:38
Speaker 1: Okay, this is where good lawyering matters, right, who knew? But the fact that when police were called, they didn't have the information that this was a domestic relationship, consensual relationship, quite frankly makes a difference in how the police would have behaved, who they might have arrested, what charges might come. Who knew? That means you got a good lawyer. Fine, here's where we are, so robes. It leads us to this hearing where we thought that matter was going to get adjudicated, but instead that's not what happened.

00:08:11
Speaker 2: Yes, it was a bit of a surprise because instead we got to hear a plea deal. So what happened today in court? And this was a little bit of a shocker. It was, quite frankly, a big shocker. Sharon Moore was able to plead no contest. That means he doesn't have to technically admit guilt. You get to do this once in your life. This was his no contest card. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges. And here is the Here are the charges of a malicious use of a telecommunications device in the context of a domestic relationship, and he pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge of trespassing.

00:08:51
Speaker 1: Okay, no, he's played guilty to nothing.

00:08:55
Speaker 2: He's pled guilty to nothing.

00:08:57
Speaker 1: This entire incident now in which this guy lost the job, has resulted in and again, Robe, there's next month, is it not? He still has a sentencing hearing?

00:09:08
Speaker 2: Correct?

00:09:09
Speaker 1: Is that right? Correct? Is there anywhere you have read is there any expectation that he's going to spend a single night in jail?

00:09:14
Speaker 2: I think most people believe he will never spend a single night in jail. What he was able to avoid in this plea agreement, the prosecution this state agreed to dismiss the felony charge. This was the big deal. He had a felony charge he was facing of third degree home invasion, and he had another misdemeanor charge of stalking and another misdemeanor charge of breaking and entering. Those are not charges you want on your record, ever, so he was able to have all of those charges dismissed. So the most the three most serious charges were all dismissed as a part of this plea deal. That's a big deal.

00:09:53
Speaker 1: It's a big, big win. It's a big deal. It's a big win, it's a big moment, it's a big headline, it's a big development. But it might not be Folks, the thing that most people are talking about out up today, stay here. It was what happened and the image we saw when the coach, the former coach, was walking into court that has so many people buzzing. Stay here, all right, We continue here on this Friday developing story. Just god word, big breaking news in December has now somewhat wrapped up without necessarily a I guess Robes a headline making conclusion necessarily University of Michigan coach fired after being involved with his assistant and an affair, and today it all just kind of goes away without him going to jail, without him geting guilty with that. It seemed like Robes, a lot of people might even look at this and go, yeah, that's about right. It's crazy as that sounds, Yeah, that's about right. It's who is it to say, Robes, if it's right or if it's wrong, if the punishment fits the crime. He lost a prestigious job, he lost his reputation, He might never be able to coach again. He's not going to jail. But do you balance the guy having an affair. Do you balance the guy stepping on and his wife stepping out in his family with what now has been lost? I don't know. So I say, okay, somebody see that and go, yeah, that's about right, that's about even, That's what should have happened.

00:11:43
Speaker 2: You know what. I am just very happy about that he's okay, because I remember when this all broke in December. Yes, it's tragic. It's jarring to not just Sharon More in his family, but to the entire University of Michigan football community. People who believed in him, were guided by him, who wanted him to continue to lead their organization. This was devastating to a huge number of people, and we were worried, as we initially reported on this in December, of his mental health. To think that, yes, okay, people make mistakes, people have affairs, people and marriages and go off with other like, look, this happens all the time, and not trying to normalize it. But this is a part. This was different. He was so distraught, he was threatening his own life. It was his own wife, And honestly, this made me think, you know what, I don't know anything about their relationship, but I thought it was pretty remarkable. The only thing you heard from his wife was her calling nine one one to say, I am worried about my husband and in his ability to stay safe, to not harm himself. And she kind of sets things in motion as well, in addition to of course the lover his ex girlfriend. I guess I should say her attorneys calling nine one one. So you saw at least that support continue today in court seeing him, And there are pictures everywhere you go online she owned Moore and his wife holding hands solid together walking into court today to this hearing where there was this big plea deal.

00:13:18
Speaker 1: Announced, that's between them. That who is to say? Who is to know? We just don't barogue. That is a striking image. I would say, nobody has any idea what's going on in that home, No idea, Bobes it said something, and it's folks whould be cynical and say this is a part of I guess public imaging and this might help him get another job down the road. All kinds of stuff you can finekn yourself out. But it says something she didn't.

00:13:55
Speaker 2: Have to do that it certainly does. And I actually was curious from you because you know more about this kind of thing than I do. And you've often said because we look and see what football players and professional athletes are accused of, charged with, and somehow yet they're still beloved, applauded and given multimillion dollar contracts. Do you think he can survive this? Do you think he can go on to coach and he will be able to redeem himself given what sports is.

00:14:23
Speaker 1: He needs some space, he needs some time, but somebody will give him a chance, and he should get a chance, you all, he should get a chance, everybody should. You are not the worst mistake you've ever made. He's admitting to a particular mistake. Fine, fine, And so if you actually believe a guy who is talented enough to earn this job and be successful at it, a guy who's able to do that, if you're telling me, you, sir, who have screwed up in your life, in your personal life, you should no longer be allowed to make a living or contribute to that sport because of that thing. Yes, a university can make that decision, but us just as a blanket, No, you're not allowed it. He's just not the worst mistake he's ever made. Robes and to each his or her own. I'm okay, if somebody doesn't want to hire him. I just look at that. This is not a guy who's accused of a heinous crime against another human beings, something violent and even something criminal.

00:15:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, and even the violence he was initially charged with was actually, if you look at the context of it was towards himself, not towards anyone else. And his lawyer said today, from the beginning, we maintain this felony stalking charge, the entry without permission charge, all of the charges against her client, she said, were not supported by the facts, they were not supported by the law. And so she said, the dismissal of those charges validates all the concerns we raised about the investigation from the very beginning. And so look, this paves the way for him to actually have a second chance.

00:16:09
Speaker 1: Yes, it does. And it'll take time. He'll have to rebuild and rebuild trusts and all those things. And I understand that Rhodes, and this is a this is a hell of a story, right, that goes from a guy where the first report was, oh my god, he lost this job, Oh my god, he went and threatened this woman, Oh my god, he was actually threatening himself, and now here we are to it kind of nothing. It ends up being a big fat nuss. He shouldn't have he did. Oh my goodness. He is wrong in all of this. If we haven't made that clear, yes, he has made clear. He is wrong in all of this. The roads. Where do we leave space for healing? Where do we leave space for forgiveness? Where do we leave space for allowing those people back in to some trusted position that's to each his or her own, and that's to each university's his or her own. And that's okay, But this is man. These are fascinating stories. These are fascinating human dramas that play out in front of us. What do we do with Sean Moore? What do we do with them? Would you let them? If University of Georgia announced they wanted to hire him, what would you say? What would you think? Would you call the university behind the scenes and say, hey, guys, I'm not okay with that?

00:17:28
Speaker 2: I would not?

00:17:29
Speaker 1: No, right, we like what will people feels?

00:17:32
Speaker 2: No?

00:17:32
Speaker 1: And even if you got pissed when you got hired, if he goes ten and two and get you in the SEC Championship game, I bet oh that shit goes away. That's just where we are.

00:17:43
Speaker 2: There are moments in which people fail as humans, and moments of weakness and moments of temptation. I don't know any of the details about any of this, but it doesn't take away from someone's talent. And look, I do believe that sometimes people have gone through this sort of public humiliation, this sort of public shaming. Man, I would trust them almost more than anyone who hasn't, because they know what it's like to be down and they've learned the price that they had to pay for the mistakes they made. And I actually would feel like those are the kind of folks I wouldn't mind having around me because they get it in a way other people haven't, maybe who haven't been caught, you know, I just like, don't you don't know all of us are. We don't think we live in glasshouses, but we do. Just imagine if you're worst, the worst thing you did that no one knows about suddenly was exposed to the world. I mean, just think about it in those terms. I think everybody has done something they're not proud of, and I'm not comparing that to what Sharon Moore did or anyone else. But I just think sometimes we need a little perspective, and today did pave the way for a second chance for him. And I also just think it's important we wanted to put this episode on today because this news came out late on a Friday, and news that comes out late on a Friday never makes the same kind of headlines that it does when it's the middle of the week and he's accused of barging into this blind you know, his girlfriend, his ex girlfriends, his assistant, this sexy, salacious story with a knife up to his neck and threatening. Oh, that made all sorts of headlines. How many headlines will this make his I don't want to say his exoneration, but certainly a headline that is favorable to him and certainly tamps down some of the initial sensationalism of the original story. This won't be as big of a story, but hopefully this is the story that gives him a chance to rebuild his life. And I say that for him, for his wife, for his daughters, for any future football team that may benefit from his leadership.

00:19:42
Speaker 1: He's wrong. We're here, and that can't not There's no other way to say this. We are here because of what coach Charon More did. He hurt his family, He hurt that university, he hurt that community, He hurt all of those players. He went into living room, then look parents in the eye and said, send your child, send your son to me. I got him. He hurt a lot of people. Okay, okay, that we know it, and he should be punished. There's no argument about that.

00:20:14
Speaker 2: Role.

00:20:15
Speaker 1: We have to figure out what we do with those folks. How do we incorporate them back into society. Everybody is guilty of something, it's just we know about some of them and we don't know about others. He is not any different from most folks walking up and down the street. Just we know about his ish and we don't know about some others. I'm fascinated by these stories, Robes. You know that I am. You know that I am, but I.

00:20:44
Speaker 2: Think we all should be because they're human stories.

00:20:47
Speaker 1: Human story. I'm fascinated by these human stories. But folks want to hop on like ropes set give you this update on a Friday. These stories get buried right on a Friday. But worth talking about. What we appreciate you is always spending some time with us. I GJ. Holmes on behalf of my dear Amy Roback. We will talk to you all sin m hmm