Believe it or not, Michigan was not entirely forthcoming about the findings of the investigation it refused to release to the public.
The self-proclaimed Leaders and the Best paid the law firm Jenner & Block a reported $12 million to investigate its athletics department, presumably gearing up to fire Warde Manuel for cause. Then the school gave Manuel a $7 million exit package while also keeping him on the job through the end of the year, leading to obvious questions of why it hired Jenner & Block in the first place. The school could claim points toward transparency, except for the inconvenient fact it did not release Jenner & Block's findings to the public, because there was no written report, and thus nothing to leak.
Still, the Wall Street Journal obtained documents from the report laying out numerous problems and scandals from within the football program and the athletics department as a whole. Writes the Journal: "The law firm laid out a series of potential red flags about Moore, and outlined problems in Michigan’s athletic department in other sports, including previously unreported issues with a water polo coach."
Michigan received complaints about its former water polo coach in 2023, 2024, and 2025, including accusations that she disregarded trainers medical advise, but she remained on the job until U-M accepted her resignation in March.
The report also reiterated how Michigan tolerated scandals by former men's basketball coach, including striking an opposing assistant coach in a post-game handshake line in 2022, but he remained on the job until 2024.
This is all in addition to the numerous, well-known scandals involving the football program. Michigan was well aware of ex-head coach Sherrone Moore's relationship with a subordinate and unprofessional behavior on social media well before that ticking time bomb blew up in spectacular fashion. The Jenner & Block report found Michigan was aware Moore had communicated with an OnlyFans model by 2024, and that he made online overtures to a Michigan fan "who posted scantily clad photos on social media." Former Michigan assistant LaTroy Lewis was also investigated by police for a sexual assault allegation in 2024. And then there were Jim Harbaugh, Matt Weiss, and Connor Stalions.
All told, there was more than enough for Michigan to hire a law firm to then fire Moore for cause, or to pay him a don't-sue-us exit package to leave quietly. For some reason, Michigan decided to do both.