It’s been nearly eight months since Michigan parted ways with Sherrone Moore, but the program continues to take a hit. After firing Moore following an investigation into his inappropriate relationship with a Michigan staffer, Paige Shiver, the university hired a legal firm to look into it further. But the findings of that investigation have not been made public.

On July 8, Shiver’s legal team filed a lawsuit against Michigan in a Washtenaw County court. It accused Michigan of hiding records of the investigation regarding the long relationship between the former head coach and the staffer. According to the lawsuit, Wolverines violated the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

“The lawsuit filed today demands transparency and accountability from the University of Michigan, President Grasso, and the Board of Regents,” said Shiver’s attorney, Andrew M. Stroth, as reported by Detroit Free Press on July 8.

“This public university paid Jenner & Block $12 million to investigate the Sherrone Moore scandal and the abuse, Title IX and Title VII violations within the athletic department and Schembechler Hall, yet now refuses to release the investigation’s findings. It was important for our client to file this initial FOIA lawsuit to ensure the truth and facts come out.”

Michigan doesn’t put any official statement on the lawsuit, according to the school’s spokesman Paul Corliss. But the school faced this legal battle only because of not releasing the private investigation records. After firing Moore, to investigate if other employees were involved in any wrongdoing, Michigan hired Jenner & Block. Even Shiver had an interview with the firm last December. However, Michigan wrongly denied her legal team’s request for the records of that interview.

The program claimed it didn’t possess records. At that time, her legal team argued Michigan should take records from the private law firm. But the new development of this case revealed another layer of this story. That put Michigan’s reputation at risk. The lawsuit mentioned the school’s athletics department had knowledge about the affair and the practice of abuse against Shiver for a long time since 2021.

“Throughout the duration of her employment with the University of Michigan, Shiver was discriminated against and subjected to a hostile work environment on the basis of her sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Michigan law, including the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act,” stated the lawsuit, obtained by the Free Press.

The Michigan staffer’s lawyers not only requested FOIA for interview material, but they also asked for “meetings, reports, hotline tips, anonymous reports, and other communications.” But every time the school had a reason to deny those. Though Michigan has to pay a hefty sum (around $12M) to Jenner & Block to identify if there are any cultural issues in the athletic department.

Michigan’s defense in hiding investigation records

Paige Shiver’s attorney filed the lawsuit following Michigan’s denial of responding to their request. The first time, in February, they filed a FOIA, but Michigan denied, arguing “compiled for law enforcement purposes.” However, the legal team didn’t stop there and requested the following months.

In March when her legal team asked for the communication of a specific email address, UMconcerns@jenner.com, then-President Domenico Grasso was vocal and said it was confidential.

“This breach of trust by Coach Moore is painful for many in our community, first and foremost, the individuals directly involved in this situation. Yet our swift and decisive action reflects the University’s staunch commitment to a campus culture of respect, integrity and accountability. All of the facts here must be known, so the University’s investigation will continue. I encourage anyone with information about this matter to confidentially contact UMconcerns@jenner.com,” said Grasso in a letter.

In June when her legal team filed another request, Michigan called it “overly broad and vague.” Now, a judge will help the former Michigan staffer and his legal team to get those hidden records.