Sherrone Moore Joins The Disgraced Black Coaches Group Chat

The old African-American proverb states that you should “never (blank) with the church’s money,” as it warns Black people to never fly too close to the sun. Sherrone Moore must have missed service that day or slept through the Word.

This week, social media rumors turned into breaking news when Sherrone Moore was fired with cause by the University of Michigan on Thursday.

Within hours, reports surfaced that Moore had been detained by police and was under investigation for potential charges. Given some of the rumors that have been swirling, a story about a shakeup in the world of college football that led to light-hearted ridicule and teasing on social media has turned serious, as Moore has been listed as an inmate at a local jail in Michigan. The case won’t be going away anytime soon, as things can hopefully be resolved peacefully.

Moore had just concluded his second regular season in Ann Arbor and left the program weeks before Michigan takes on Texas in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve. He was 21-8 in his tenure as interim and head coach of the Wolverines.

Why did Moore lose a job that paid him millions in Donald Trump’s economy? For “inappropriate relationships.”

“U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. “Following a University investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.” According to Moore’s contract, the school could fire him if, “Conduct by the Head Coach which offends against public decency or morality, as shall be determined by standards prevailing in the community or which results in, or in the reasonable determination of the University could result in, material injury to the reputation, interests or obligations of the University or the Program,” as reported by the Detroit Free Press.

If you’re frustrated with Black coaches who lose high-profile jobs for misconduct, you’re not alone.

In 2022, Ime Udoka was suspended and eventually fired as the head coach of the Boston Celtics for using crude language toward a female subordinate before beginning an improper relationship with her.

Basketball fans were stunned. Black folks were pissed that he cheated on Nia Long.

“We have a lot of talented women in our organization. I thought yesterday was really hard on them,” said Celtics’ President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens at the time. “Nobody can control Twitter speculation, rampant [expletive], but I do think that we as an organization have a responsibility to make sure we’re there to support them now. Because a lot of people were dragged unfairly into that.”

“I personally feel that this is well-warranted and appropriate, backed by substantial research and evidence and facts,” added former team owner Wyc Grousbeck. “It was clear that something substantial needed to be done. And it was.”

And in the fall of 2023, Mel Tucker was fired for cause as the head football coach of Michigan State University in relation to a sexual misconduct complaint by a sexual assault awareness speaker whom Tucker had brought in to speak to his team.

The language that was used for getting rid of Tucker was similar to what was said about Moore and Udoka, as the school said that he was dismissed “for his admitted and undisputed behaviors which have brought public disrespect, contempt and ridicule upon the university; and constitute a material breach of his agreement, and moral turpitude.”

Since Moore didn’t learn from his in-state rival, let’s hope that he doesn’t follow Tucker’s footsteps again and try to fight the decision, as it didn’t go well. “Simply put, Mr. Tucker’s response does not provide any information that refutes or undermines the multiple grounds for termination for cause set forth in the notice,” former MSU Athletic Director Alan Haller said in a statement at the time. “Instead, his 25-page response, which includes a 12-page letter from his attorney and a 13-page ‘expert report,’ provides a litany of excuses for his inappropriate behavior while expressly admitting to the problematic conduct outlined in the notice.”

In the name of equality, we’ve seen Black women head coaches lose jobs over similar issues. Back in 2007, former LSU head women’s basketball coach Pokey Chatman resigned due to allegations that she too had “inappropriate relations” — but this time, it was allegedly with one of her players. “The best interests of young women on our basketball team is our utmost priority,” explained former LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe. “We acted responsibly to encourage a resolution of this unfortunate situation. In that regard, Coach Chatman made the right decision.”

In just the last few years, we’ve seen a Black coach who was leading the franchise that has more NBA championships than any team in the history of the league (Udoka), a man with the largest contract that any Black coach has had in the history of sports (Tucker), and the first full-time Black head coach of the winningest program in college football history (Moore) all have to update their résumés and LinkedIn profiles because they couldn’t keep their hands out of the offering plate.

At some point, “Doctor” Umar will get on the internet and rant about how white women are, allegedly, at the core of all of these situations, as it will take this conversation to a place that it doesn’t need to go — especially given the complex history surrounding interracial relationships between white women and Black men in this country.

With Moore, someone may argue that this issue would have been swept under the rug if he had beaten Ohio State again this season and the Wolverines had played better in their losses to Oklahoma and USC.

As for Udoka and Tucker, there were mind-numbing barbershop discussions about how “white men get away with things like this.” But at the end of the day, neither Sherrone Moore, Ime Udoka, nor Mel Tucker benefits from white privilege. What they did possess was the opportunity to push the door open even further for Black coaches across the sports landscape. Instead, they did the thing that frustrates every coach — committed unforced turnovers.

Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University. Follow his Substack to keep up with more of his work.

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Ime Udoka And Mel Tucker Just Added Sherrone Moore To Their Group Chat was originally published on newsone.com