If University of Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore was winning football games, his executive assistant says those victories were used to justify his abusive behavior during their two-year illicit relationship.
When 32-year-old Paige Shiver broke things off, Moore had a meltdown, was fired by the university and arrested on the same day. On Tuesday, Moore was sentenced to probation after pleading down the original felony home invasion charge and a stalking count. Moore’s longtime wife supported him; his ex-girlfriend is now expected to sue him and the university.
“I want to thank my beautiful wife, Kelly, for her support, her strength and standing by me,” ex-Wolverine coach Moore said while standing in front of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Judge J. Cedric Simpson on Tuesday.
Moore, with his wife in the front row, listened as the suburban Detroit judge announced the fate of the former Big Ten coach.
“The morality of what transpired…that’s not something for the court to decide,” said Judge Simpson during an unusually detailed explainer of a misdemeanor sentence.
What transpired was that two years ago Moore took up with football staff employee and his top aide, Paige Shiver. As NBC 5 Investigates first reported in December, Shiver is the daughter of legendary Chicago Bears college scout Jeff Shiver – with the NFL Bears for almost 40 years.
When Moore’s illicit relationship, his job and his personal life imploded last Dec. 10, he was arrested after police said he threatened to hurt himself and Shiver with kitchen knives.
On Tuesday, Moore was sentenced to 18 months probation and a few small court fines.
“This was an isolated incident and the punishment given by Judge Simpson today is a reflection of all those things,” said Moore’s attorney, Ellen Michaels, after the sentencing.
A statement from Paige Shiver said she had feared for her life while with Moore and that top university officials allowed her to be “exploited and abused” while “focused only on winning football games.”
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Safer, a frequent NBC Chicago legal analyst, said such a merciful sentence in the whittled-down criminal case only tees up a huge civil lawsuit—and that the University of Michigan has reason to be jittery.
“Yes, they have significant reason to be concerned,” Safer said. “This relationship apparently went on for an extended period of time and apparently was not a secret to many in the university. They’re going to have to answer for a lack of supervision, either willfully turning blind or at least being negligent about his misconduct.”
“A likely civil lawsuit against Moore and the University of Michigan could result in a sizable settlement paid to the 32-year-old Paige Shiver,” according to Safer – even though the relationship was consensual for a time.
Shiver’s statement uses legal buzz words, such as hostile environment, to describe the Michigan football office and calls on top administrators and major donors to take responsibility for what happened. We asked university officials about the case, but they declined to comment.
