This week, the University of Michigan announced that Athletic Director Warde Manuel will be stepping down at the end of the year. Manuel’s departure follows an independent investigation commissioned by the university to look into the tenure and firing of football coach Sherrone Moore, and to look at the overall culture in the Michigan athletic department.
But the details — or lack thereof — in the announcement have raised more questions.
For more on that story, Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined Morning Edition host Doug Tribou.
Doug Tribou: U of M President Domenico Grasso made the announcement about Manuel’s departure and the findings of the investigation in a roughly five-minute video statement. Grasso praised much of Warde Manuel’s work as athletic director, including UM’s national championships in the past decade and academic successes of Michigan athletes.
But he also said that Manuel’s leadership contributed to the culture problems in the department and fostered a fear to report problems. What do you make of Manuel’s departure and the fact that it won’t happen for several months?
John U. Bacon: Well, [Manuel's] a bit of a Rorschach test. His teams have won a lot of national titles, a lot of Big Ten titles, academically have done very well. The athletes have behaved very, very well. The adults have not always behaved so well in the department. So that's one aspect of this.
But if he is not a part of the problem then why push him out? If he is a part of the problem then why keep him as an advisor to enact the needed reforms they talk about for the next six months? They want to have their cake and eat it too, and it makes no sense.
DT: Well, along those lines, U of M's president discussed a number of areas where the athletic department needs to make changes. Here's some of what Domenico Grasso had to say:
"The broader culture review has identified serious concerns that require immediate action. These include failures in accountability, structural deficiencies, weaknesses in our reporting and support systems, and concerns about retaliation. This is unacceptable."
Grasso went on to talk about some of those things in a little bit more depth, but again, with not many specifics. What do you make of his point there about coming changes?
JUB: Why would you believe him? Honestly. This is the silliest thing they've ever put out there. They say these require immediate action, and we're going to keep Warde Manuel for six more months. That's not immediate action. They also talk, later on, that they found accountability, organizational structure [issues]. Okay. So who interfered? How? Whose oversight was poor? Who was going to be held accountable? How exactly are these failures going to change if they must? They answer none of these questions.
We don't even know what's wrong, really. So the meta problem, if you will, Doug, is that they're trying to say they're being so transparent, which they promised in December when they announced this investigation and saying at the time that no stone will be unturned. There's not even any stones — unturned or otherwise — in this thing. It's so frustratingly clear that they're doing the exact opposite. I can even imagine them telling themselves that this is transparency and believing it, which might be worse.
As Chief Wiggum said on The Simpsons, "What is your fascination with my forbidden closet of mystery?" Yeah, you got a $12-million report. Hundreds of pages, surely. And now you're claiming all kinds of stuff and no one can see the report.
"If [Manuel] is not a part of the problem then why push him out? If he is a part of the problem then why keep him ... for the next six months?"John U. Bacon
DT: One of the things that's striking — to me, at least — about the online summary of the report by the law firm Jenner and Block and U of M President Domenico Grasso's video statement is the lack of specifics. The problems are described generically, as are the proposals or plans for addressing them. There are references to changes in policies and procedures and the organizational chart, but no real specifics there.
And we don't learn anything about what's prompting these actions. That is especially surprising because Warde Manuel's been the athletic director for a long time now, and a number of the things that might potentially be seen as problems have already been made public over the years. For example, the firing of former Michigan hockey coach Mel Pearson after allegations of a variety of problems within that program. There aren't even any references to some of the things that would appear to be potential cultural concerns within the department.
What do you make of that disconnect?
JUB: Well, you laid it out quite nicely, Doug. It seems to be a problem here. Look, the whole thing goes back to this idea that they cannot release any aspect of the report. And even what they just gave you was only after a month or so of pressure from the media and others saying, this is ridiculous.
Privacy. They [cite] that, of course. Well, they released a full report on Dr. [Robert] Anderson, who molested hundreds of student athletes while at Michigan, and they found a way to release that report. It can be done if you're careful.
And then they're also saying they're worried that if they do release the report, that people will get retaliated against. That is really a stunning self-own, Doug. Who are they worried about doing the retaliating? If it's the A.D. or anyone else, why keep them? What does this say about the culture you are still tolerating? It's just absurd on its face.
DT: Athletic department scandals in the college level often have ramifications beyond sports — students, staff, families, careers affected. And on Michigan Public, we try to put those concerns front and center. But additionally, there is also the issue of athletics at U of M, which is a huge business in its own right and a huge point of interest for the region from a sports standpoint.
Where does this report and Manuel's planned departure fit into a department that's already been going through a lot of change in these past few months?
JUB: Well, it's kind of the worst of both worlds. On the one hand, we know change is coming. There's going to be a new A.D., eventually, in 2027, but in the meantime, the whole department is paralyzed. And as you point out, when Sherrone Moore, for example, screws up, guess what? His whole staff is gone and they've got spouses and kids in school and everything else, it screws up a lot of lives.
But in the meantime, nobody at Michigan can do anything. When you talk to the coaches and you talk to the administrators, they all tell you the same thing, that right now [they're] basically handcuffed until there's a new A.D.
And that's where you are.
DT: I want to note here that the University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license, although we report on the university as we would any other institution.
John, always uplifting to talk to you. [Both laugh] Thanks a lot for doing this.
JUB: On the other hand, the Tigers are winning. So there's that. [Laughs]
Editor's notes: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You play the audio of the full interview near the top of this page.
The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.
