Michigan fired head coach Sherrone Moore after an investigation found “credible evidence” he was engaged in an “inappropriate relationship” with a female member of his staff. However, the mistress remains employed.
Why?
The university would risk a violation of its own policy if it were to remove the college football staffer from her current role. She is protected from retaliatory discipline in a relationship of unequal authority.
Sherrone Moore broke policy.
Policy No. 201.97 states that a supervisor at the University of Michigan may not, “implicitly or explicitly, initiate or attempt to initiate an intimate relationship with a supervisee.” Moore was a supervisor. His alleged mistress, whose name is already public, was the supervisee.
Although it is currently unclear as to who of the two initiated the years-long relationship, the policy requires the supervisor to report the relationship to the university officials. The supervisee is not required to do so. Only the supervisor.
And, upon disclosure by the supervisor, the university will then create a management plan to remove the supervisor’s power over the supervisee. Sherrone Moore did not disclose the relationship so he was fired.
“Recognizing that Intimate Relationships exist or may develop in the workplace that are not initiated by a Supervisor and are free from coercion and abuse of power, immediate disclosure of the relationship by the Supervisor is required. Failure of the Supervisor to disclose an Intimate Relationship is a serious offense and cause for discipline, up to and including dismissal from employment.”
The mistress did not get fired because she did not break the policy. A supervisee is “encouraged” to disclose the relationship with his or her supervisor but does not have a written obligation to do so.
Michigan cannot fire the mistress.
Moore was fired as soon as the university was able to confirm his relationship with the staffer. The staffer was allowed to keep her job because of the power dynamics at play.
Michigan’s policy puts responsibility on the supervisor and not the supervisee for a reason.
The supervisor’s power over the supervisee gives the supervisee a reason to fear retaliation if he or she does not obey the wishes of the supervisor. The university wants to prevent that kind of dynamic.
“Intimate Relationships initiated by a Supervisor are at high risk of being unwelcomed and experienced by the Supervisee as sexual harassment. Supervisors are therefore responsible for understanding how their statements and conduct may reasonably be interpreted by persons who do not share their same level of power.”
This policy came to exist in 2020 because of a different scandal at the university. Former Michigan provost Martin Philbert was accused of sexual harassment. An outside firm conducted an investigation. It included a few recommendations in its final report.
One of the recommendations was to create a standalone policy that focuses on “consensual relationships between employees of unequal authority.”
Policy No. 201.97 was officially installed in July 2021, which led to the ouster of Sherrone Moore in 2025. The mistress was spared from being fired because it was a relationship of “unequal authority.”
The post University Of Michigan Cannot Fire Sherrone Moore’s Mistress Due To School Policy From Prior Scandal appeared first on BroBible.
University Of Michigan Cannot Fire Sherrone Moore’s Mistress Due To School Policy From Prior Scandal
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