A University of Michigan football staffer resigned Saturday, just days after expressing excitement for his new job, once it was discovered he had posted and liked racist social media posts on Twitter.
On Wednesday, Glenn “Shemy” Schembechler announced on social media that he felt “beyond honored to return home” to become assistant director of Michigan football recruiting. According to The Detroit News, head coach Jim Harbaugh and Warde Manuel, the school’s athletic director, shared news of Schembechler’s resignation in a joint statement late Saturday.
Sources say that Harbaugh and Manuel learned of Schembechler’s offensive likes and comments on Friday.
Glenn “Shemy” Schembechler, son of former University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler, speaks at a memorial service for his father on Nov. 21, 2006, at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Schembechler has resigned as the university’s assistant recruitment director after the discovery of social media posts and likes “that have caused concern and pain for individuals in our community,” two school officials said. (Photo by Tony Ding/AP, File)
“We are aware of some comments and likes on social media that have caused concern and pain for individuals in our community,” their statement said, The News reported.
“Michigan athletics is fully committed to a place where our coaches, staff and student-athletes feel welcome,” they added, “and where we fully support the University’s and Athletic Department’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Schembechler’s Twitter timeline contained several inflammatory and insensitive remarks and likes of other posts, including some implying that slavery and Jim Crow were beneficial for empowering Black people and families.
After purging more than 2,000 likes and retweets from his Twitter timeline Saturday afternoon, he deleted his account that night.
Schembechler had worked as an NFL scout for 25 years, 10 of them with Washington. He more recently worked for the Las Vegas Raiders before reportedly being terminated in February.
The university’s Standard Practice Guide policy for hiring notes that every employee is subject to a background check to verify information related to employment and appointment decisions that help the school meet its commitments.
The Schembechler incident is the latest issue plaguing Michigan’s football program. In January, Michigan received a draft of an NCAA notice of allegations for suspected infractions, including a severe Level I sanction against Harbaugh for allegedly misleading investigators looking into violations during a COVID-19 recruiting dead period.
Matt Weiss, the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, lost his job that same month after university police began an investigation, which is ongoing, into possible computer crimes at Schembechler Hall, the football facility.
Schembechler released a statement of apology Sunday “to my hundreds of friends and fellow coaches in the Black community, all communities, the University of Michigan, my father’s legacy and my family.” He noted his situation should serve as yet another regrettable illustration of the need to exercise more caution and discernment when using social media.
His family’s success and legacy are “centered on the debt we owe the scores and scores of Black families, and all families, who allowed us to be a part of their incredible journeys,” Schembechler said. He grew up watching his now-late father, Bo Schembechler, serve as the institution’s head coach from 1969 to 1990.
Schembechler pleaded for forgiveness based on his extensive achievements rather than any moment of indiscretion. He acknowledged fault and declared that it is immoral to use language or philosophy to minimize the immense suffering and ongoing economic and social injustices that hundreds of years of slavery and the “Jim Crow” era produced on Black Americans.
“We must never sanitize morally unsanitary, historical behaviors that have hindered the Black community, or any other community,” Schembechler added. “There are no historical silver linings for the experience of our brothers and sisters.”
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