Current, former ESPN pundits hint that potential Black coaches could be affected by Sherrone Moore’s firing

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

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

During 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’s history, “failed” potential Black coaching candidates.

“He failed a community of coaches who would love to follow him to get an opportunity to coach at an historically great university like a Michigan. That was the opportunity that he had at 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 that would love to follow in your footsteps that will be partly judged because of your actions. He does have to own that. He does have to, at some point, acknowledge that he has to be held accountable for that, whether these things are true and someone was after him or not… He won’t get a Bobby Petrino rebound. He’ll be treated like Mel Tucker and Michael Haywood.”

Tucker was fired from Michigan State over alleged harassment, as was Haywood from Pittsburgh. Haywood did not coach again for another five years, until he took the job at Texas Southern. Petrino was fired from Arkansas in 2012 after it was revealed he was having an extramarital affair, but he was hired by Western Kentucky just eight months later.

FIRED MICHIGAN COACH SHERRONE MOORE ACCUSED OF STALKING VICTIM ‘FOR MONTHS’ IN POLICE DISPATCH AUDIO

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

“Though I think Sherrone Moore is a cornball, before we start painting his firing, Mel Tucker’s and Ime Udoka’s as some kind of indictment of black male 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 in 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 usually don’t get that. I don’t care about Sherrone Moore. He earned whatever is coming, but unfortunately Black coaches will likely pay for what he’s done — and that isn’t right,” Hill said in a post on X.

Prosecutors accused Moore of contacting the staffer via phone calls and texts after the breakup, prompting the woman to contact the University of Michigan and cooperate in its investigation. Moore was subsequently fired from his position as head football coach, which prosecutors said prompted him to show up at her home.

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

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

Moore is facing over six years in prison if convicted. His next court date was scheduled for Jan. 22.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.

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