Paige Shiver reveals abortion, 'open secret' ties with Sherrone Moore. Experts weigh in.

DETROIT - Paige Shiver, the former executive assistant to former University of Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore, opened up about their relationship Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America," including the revelation that she had an abortion.

Shiver revealed in a 5-minute segment that the relationship resulted in a pregnancy that doctors recommended she not keep because of Shiver's genetic Pompe disease. The rare disease causes progressive muscle weakness, respiratory failure and heart issues.

Shiver said through tears and a quivering lip that she wanted to keep the baby, but medical experts told her an abortion would be the healthier decision. ABC reporter Linsey Davis asked what Moore advised.

"He said, 'You have to do what's right for your body,'" Shiver said.

Shiver said the relationship lasted four years and was "encouraged" by members of the university's athletic department, Davis said, adding that Shiver characterized the relationship as an "open secret" and that the leadership was aware of it.

"(Moore) controlled everything that was going on in my life, and (the university) didn't do anything about it," Shiver said.

UM Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs and Internal Communications Paul Corliss said in a Friday texted statement that the university fired Moore after discovering the relationship and that the university "expected more" from its leaders.

"The University of Michigan terminated Sherrone Moore promptly upon discovering his undisclosed workplace relationship with a direct report," the statement read. "His conduct violated university policy, and we expect more from our leaders. The University of Michigan is committed to ensuring a professional and respectful workplace for all members of its community."

Shiver explains how the relationship began and continued

Shiver, 32, said the relationship began when she was an "intern" with the Athletic Department. Shiver, then 28, and Moore, then 36, and the team's offensive coordinator, began a "consensual, intimate relationship."

Moore's attorney, Ellen Michaels, told ABC that Moore had closed that chapter of his life. Michaels declined to comment to The Detroit News for both Sherrone and his wife, Kelli.

Before delivering Moore's sentence on April 24, Ann Arbor 14A District Court Judge Cedric Simpson applauded Moore's wife, saying she "saved" her husband from the court's "wrath." The judge said he was "amazed" by Kelli and said Moore takes her for granted.

When Moore was promoted to head coach, Shiver said she was promoted to his executive assistant. To keep her job, Shiver said, she felt she needed to continue the relationship.

Despite the worries about job security, Shiver said she tried to end the relationship multiple times. Every time, she said, Moore would manipulate her into staying with him ― sometimes by threatening self-harm.

"Every time I tried to pull away, he always had a story," Shiver said. "He always had a way to pull me in and make me feel that I couldn't leave him because he was so miserable without me."

Earlier this month, Moore was sentenced to 18 months of probation for trespassing after breaking into Shiver's home.

After the interview aired, Shiver's attorneys, Andrew M. Stroth and Steven A. Hart, released a statement.

"The University of Michigan Athletic Department's systemic failure to comply with basic policies and procedures created and enabled a hostile and male dominated environment at Schembechler Hall that traumatized Ms. Shiver," the statement read.

"This environment was an open secret. The university chose to focus solely on winning at all costs on the football field and to disregard Ms. Shiver's safety and well being. Interim President Domenico Grasso, General Counsel Tim Lynch and the Board of Regents must take accountability for this failure and commit to building a NCAA and Title IX compliant Athletic Department across all sports."

Feeling trapped in power-dynamic relationship common, advocates say

Although Shiver told "Good Morning America" the relationship with Moore was consensual, someone is not able to consent when the other party is their boss or has authority over them, said Chéree Thomas, co-executive director of the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. It's common for people to feel trapped in a relationship, especially when there is a power dynamic at play, she said.

"Did she really consent when this person had complete control over her livelihood?" Thomas said. "Anytime there is a power dynamic where the person is your employer, you're going to feel trapped, you're going to feel like, ‘How am I going to pay bills?' … Am I going to be believed?"

Thomas noted that the risk of lethality rises in relationships with domestic violence factors when the non-abuser tries to leave.

"The person causing harm is the person who ultimately gets to decide how the relationship ends and if it ends," Thomas said.

A relationship like the Moore-Shiver one alone is not indicative of any issues with UM's culture, but can be a problem regardless of where someone is employed, she said.

Emily Miller, managing attorney at the Michigan Advocacy Program in Ypsilanti, Mich., said it is common in abusive relationships for survivors to stay in fear of what their partner will do if they try to leave.

"It's really common for some type of threat to be made to the survivor by the perpetrator that makes it clear if the survivor tries to leave the relationship, the abuser will make good on whatever that threat is, whether it's physical violence, financial ruin, social ruin," Miller said.

For survivors to feel safer, they often will stay in a relationship so they have a sense of their perpetrator's moods and can act in a way that would avoid triggering their temper, leading to greater danger, she said.

UM faculty lobby for oversight role at athletic department

The months-long investigation into the university's athletic department appeared to end after a request for March invoices from Jenner & Block returned no documents. The last invoice obtained by The Detroit News showed the university spent over $9.5 million on the investigation.

But a second law firm, the New York-based Weil, Gotshal, has been retained to assist with the matter, Corliss confirmed. He could not describe the specifics of their work.

"It's a bit embarrassing we keep hiring external lawyers," Faculty Senate President David Peterson said Friday. "We should be able to look after our own house."

The investigation began looking into allegations of an inappropriate relationship between Moore and Shiver. After Shiver came forward and Moore was fired, the investigation expanded to look into concerns over how Moore was fired and the broad culture of the athletic department that allowed the relationship to continue without oversight and multiple other scandals within the department over the last few years.

Peterson and the other members of the Faculty Senate argued in a resolution earlier this month that the athletic department needs more oversight by academic governance. In the past, he said, the faculty sat on an oversight board, but when the new Advisory Board for Intercollegiate Athletics was created in 2002, it limited the ability of the faculty to intervene in department operations.

The Faculty Senate argued the newly created Ethics, Integrity, and Compliance Office should have greater responsibilities in relation to the athletic department and so athletes, coaches and staff would feel "comfortable discussing difficult matters with a supportive and independent third party," the resolution said.

UM needs a better whistleblower policy, expert says

Brian Gearity, founder and director of the Master of Arts in Sport Coaching Degree at the University of Denver, said the university should have a policy regarding supervisors having consensual relationships with those with whom they work.

However, he said, just because there's a policy on the books didn't mean people would follow them - especially in a situation like an affair that the people involved would want to keep secret.

"A lot of people don't want to follow up," Gearity said. "This is why having a whistleblower policy or a way to anonymously report is needed."

Shiver said she denied their relationship the first time she was asked because she didn't trust that the same institution that protected Moore would stand up for her, "Good Morning America" reported. This didn't mean athletic department leaders got a pass, the University of Denver expert said.

"The university should have someone who is a Title IX coordinator or a civil rights coordinator, even outside investigators could start an inquiry into the matter," Gearity said. "This neutral, third-party investigation would be a way the university could manage the situation.

"It's like the military; it's hard to police yourself," he continued.

Gearity added that athletic departments tended to operate outside the norms of other university departments. Annual trainings on workplace harassment are commonplace university-wide, he said, just not usually in athletic departments.

"Compliance officers are mostly focused on the NCAA and keeping athletes eligible," Gearity said. "They likely don't do the trainings other departments do, or to the same extent. … It would be a good idea to have an outside compliance officer come in to ensure (athletic department) leaders are getting the same training that department chairs and deans are."

Ajhanai Keaton, an assistant professor of sport management at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said Shiver's comments about the relationship being an "open secret" made sense given the culture of university athletics.

"This isn't shocking to me from what I've studied and heard," Keaton said. "It's the ‘precarity of the opportunity' for those individuals who might have information related to harassment or similar situations. … What did those on staff know and didn't say? Their jobs are attached to the coach, so it's more precarious for them to come forward if they knew something."

In university athletic departments nationwide, issues have been reported and not resolved, she said. It's common for staffers who fear rocking the boat to stay quiet.

Public, private, economic and social pressures on athletic departments also make good governance and oversight difficult, Keaton said. If the team is succeeding, people might be more likely to look the other way, she said.

"It's all dependent on the success of the team," Keaton said.

This culture makes it crucial for universities to be prepared when an issue occurs, she said. Leaders have to walk through their protocols for situations the Moore-Shiver situation to push back on a culture of silence, she said.

"What are the structures in place for reporting?" Keaton said. "Investigating? Putting coaches on leave? Knowing the culture exists, what would you do if it happened here? These social interactions and power dynamics exist. What's your response?"

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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 3:18 PM.