Ryan Clark and Jemele Hill say race shapes fallout from Sherrone Moore scandal

Sherrone Moore’s career is certainly in jeopardy after he was charged with three charges, including a felony, following his firing from Michigan for an alleged “inappropriate relationship” with a staff member.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement that “credible evidence was found that Coach Moore had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.” He was arraigned Friday on charges of home invasion and stalking, with prosecutors alleging that Moore had an “intimate relationship” with the Michigan employee for “several years” and that on Monday the woman broke up with him.

On Thursday’s edition of ESPN’s “First Take,” former NFL player-turned-analyst Ryan Clark insinuated that Moore, the first African-American head coach in Michigan history, had “failed” potential black candidates.

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“He let down a community of coaches that would love to follow him for the opportunity to coach at a great, historic university like Michigan. That’s the opportunity he had that he failed at…” Clark said.

“If you’re Sherrone Moore, who was the first African-American head coach at the University of Michigan, there’s also a community of coaches who would love to follow in your footsteps and who will be judged in part because of your actions. He has to be aware of that. He has to, at some point, recognize that he has to be held accountable for this, whether these things are true and whether anyone is after him or not… He’s not going to get a rebound from Bobby Petrino. He’s going to be treated like Mel Tucker and Michael Haywood.”

Tucker was fired from Michigan State for alleged harassment, as was Pittsburgh’s Haywood. Haywood didn’t coach again for five years, until he took the job at Texas Southern. Petrino was fired from Arkansas in 2012 after revealing he was having an extramarital affair, but he was hired by Western Kentucky eight months later.

Sherrone Moore, head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, before the Northwestern Wildcats game at Wrigley Field in Chicago on November 15, 2025. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

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Former ESPN host Jemele Hill expressed similar sentiments, also citing Tucker and Petrino, citing “the difference in who gets a second chance to be a head coach.”

“While I think Sherrone Moore is a cornball, before I start describing his firings, Mel Tucker’s, and Ime Udoka’s firings as some sort of indictment against black coaches, let me remind you of the following names: Hugh Freeze, Bobby Petrino, Rick Pitino, Mike Price, among others,” Hill posted on Threads. “The difference is who gets a second chance to be a head coach. And you can guess who usually gets another chance.”

“Rick Pitino is seen as a redemption story. Black coaches generally don’t understand that. I don’t care about Sherrone Moore. He’s won everything that’s coming, but unfortunately, black coaches will probably pay for what he did – and that’s not fair,” Hill said in an article on X.

Prosecutors accused Moore of contacting the staffer by phone and text after the breakup, prompting the woman to contact the University of Michigan and cooperate with its investigation. Moore was later fired from his job as head football coach, which prosecutors say prompted him to show up at her home.

Moore then allegedly “barged” into the residence, grabbed a butter knife and a pair of kitchen scissors and began threatening his own life. According to prosecutors, Moore told the staffer, “My blood is on your hands” and “You have ruined my life.”

Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore appears via video in court in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on December 12, 2025. (Ryan Sun/AP Photo)

Prosecutors claimed Moore “terrorized” the staffer and said they considered him a “risk to public safety.”

Moore faces more than six years in prison if convicted. His next court date was scheduled for January 22.