Rusty Weiss
The fallout from Sherrone Moore’s dramatic fall from grace as Michigan’s head football coach took another turn this week when his former executive assistant and mistress filed a lawsuit against the University of Michigan.
The FOIA Lawsuit
Paige Shiver, who worked in the Wolverines football program, filed suit Wednesday in Washtenaw County Circuit Court, accusing the university of violating Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by repeatedly denying her requests for records related to the internal investigation that led to Moore’s firing last December.
The lawsuit states that Shiver began filing FOIA requests in February, asking the university for items such as interview recordings, transcripts, videos, and emails related to its investigation into Moore. She’s particularly interested in messages between Moore and athletic director Warde Manuel that include terms such as “affair,” “discipline,” “pregnancy,” “abortion,” and “baby.”
The university has denied or rejected the requests, citing exemptions and claiming some requests were too broad. Which is how many universities and government entities skirt FOIA laws.
Shiver’s lawsuit doesn’t stop at the records request. She’s also claiming she dealt with sex discrimination and a straight-up hostile work environment while she was working for the program. According to her, Michigan brass knew all about the relationship but basically looked the other way instead of protecting her. Their affair was something she’s called an “open secret” around the football building.
Disgraced ex-Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore's mistress Paige Shiver suing school over alleged violations of records requests https://t.co/rNcG5wJS2m pic.twitter.com/aYLUDwLZoI
— New York Post (@nypost) July 8, 2026
The Relationship and Moore’s Firing
Shiver gave shocking details about her relationship with Moore in an interview with ABC News’ Linsey Davis on Good Morning America in April, which included a major personal bombshell from the relationship: she allegedly became pregnant in May 2022.
Shiver learned she had Pompe Disease, a rare muscle disorder that keeps getting progressively worse, during her pregnancy. The doctors allegedly advised that continuing the pregnancy could cause some serious health problems for her. So in July 2022, she decided to have an abortion.
According to what she says in the lawsuit, Moore told her she needed to “do what’s right” for her body.
Moore was fired by Michigan last December after the investigation confirmed the inappropriate relationship. He managed to avoid jail when a sympathetic judge sentenced him to a mere 18 months of probation on the two misdemeanor charges. Those charges came from the wild confrontation he had with Shiver right after she ended their relationship, and he lost his job.
Moore pleaded no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecommunications device in a domestic relationship. More serious charges—including felony home invasion and stalking—were dismissed as part of the deal.
This new lawsuit just adds to an already pretty ugly and messy coaching exit. Michigan has dealt with its share of scandals in recent years. Now they’re facing more questions about how they handled everything behind the scenes.
For its part, the university has not publicly commented on the new lawsuit. Shiver’s legal team argues that the public has a right to see how Michigan conducted its investigation, especially given the program’s high-profile nature and taxpayer support for the school.
The case could force a judge to decide exactly what records must be released. For now, it keeps the spotlight on a program that has spent the last year trying to move past controversy — only to find itself back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
