Paige Shiver said former Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore manipulated her during a relationship that lasted nearly four years and left her feeling trapped. In her first public interview with ABC News, Shiver described the relationship as an open secret inside the athletics department and said Moore used his power over her career and emotions to keep her from leaving.
Shiver said the relationship began as consensual after she started as an intern in the University of Michigan football program in October 2021 and that it turned into something she could not easily escape. She said Moore told her he was in a loveless marriage and would soon divorce his wife, and that when she tried to end the relationship he threatened suicide or pleaded with her not to leave.
The details sharpen the fallout from a case that has already cost Moore his job and brought criminal penalties. Moore, 40, was sentenced in March 2026 to 18 months of probation after pleading no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecommunications device, while a felony home invasion charge was dropped under a plea deal. The charges stemmed from a Dec. 10 incident in which police said Moore entered Shiver’s apartment the same day he was fired and blamed her for losing his job, threatening to kill himself with butter knives.
Shiver, 32, said she feared for her life and repeatedly asked him to leave. She told News that Moore had complete control over her emotions and career, and said he made clear that he knew it. Her account adds a personal layer to a case the university had already described as a violation of policy involving an undisclosed workplace relationship with a direct report.
The University of Michigan said it terminated Moore promptly after discovering the relationship and said his conduct violated university policy. In December, university President Domenico Grasso said the school was investigating the situation to uncover additional material information and possible related misconduct by others. The university said it expected more from its leaders and was committed to a professional and respectful workplace.
The tension in Shiver’s account is not whether the relationship existed. It is how long a system around Michigan football allowed it to continue, and whether the answers the school says it is still seeking will reach beyond Moore. Ellen Michaels said Moore has closed this chapter, but Shiver’s interview suggests the wider reckoning around the program is still unfolding.
