Gorbett’s Orbit: Moore’s Suspension A Slap On The Wrist

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When Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore received a self-imposed two-game suspension on Monday for his role in an alleged sign-stealing operation, my two-pronged reaction was as follows: 1. The NCAA is never going to let that stick. 2. Who knew teams could decide which games they want to suspend their coaches for?

I’ll start with what seems obvious. The two-game suspension received by Moore seems to be not much more than a slap on the wrist that the Wolverines’ leadership is praying will be accepted by the NCAA.

I predict that prayer will not be answered. It was less than a year ago that former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for an entire year and given a four-year show cause order after the NCAA Division I on infractions determined he “violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations.”

It’s not a perfect comparison, because Harbaugh’s animosity toward the NCAA only worsened his punishment, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan’s new coach was in line for a somewhat similar punishment. After all, it is alleged that Moore deleted 52 text messages sent to none other than the supposed ringleader of the sign-stealing operation, Connor Stalions, the day news broke of the scandal.

Moore’s situation is only made worse by the fact that he’s considered a potential “repeat offender” by the NCAA because of contact with recruits made during a COVID-19 dead period.

For that issue, Moore received a one-game suspension served during Michigan’s 2023 season opener.

Perhaps most surprising to me, though, was that Moore will reportedly serve the suspension not during the Wolverines’ first two games, but rather in Weeks 3 and 4 when Michigan will take on Central Michigan and Nebraska, respectively.

The immediate explanation for this was that Moore will now get to coach against his alma mater, Oklahoma, in Week two, but I question if Oklahoma’s standing as one of college football’s most reliable blue bloods over the last 25 years played a role in this.

Even if the reasoning for the delayed suspension is taken at face value, it’s still ridiculous. I don’t care if Moore was the greatest player in Sooners’ history; the whole point of a punishment is to dish out consequences. If a two-game suspension means Moore misses out on a cherished reunion with Oklahoma, that’s too bad. He should’ve thought of that before sending – and subsequently deleting — texts to Stalions.

Frankly, the whole situation is pretty laughable. According to documents obtained by Yahoo Sports, Michigan went from claiming the NCAA was “grossly overreaching” and “wildly overcharging” the university in January to suspending their head coach, but only for two games.

This is an oversimplified metaphor, but this sign-stealing situation is almost as if a middle schooler was caught copying his classmates’ answers while taking a crucial exam and only confessed to wrongdoing after hours of arguing with his teacher. Then, right before the teacher blurts out his punishment, he announces his plan to serve a 15-minute detention on a random Tuesday the next week.

We’ll see if the NCAA accepts the seemingly dainty suspension when a Committee on Infractions has a hearing for Michigan set for June 6-7.