(NewsReady.com) – Bo Schembechler was a legend at the University of Michigan, coaching the football team from 1969 to 1989 and winning 13 Big Ten titles. When the school hired his son, Glenn “Shemy” Schembechler, recently, it seemed like the perfect fit. However, three days after the announcement was made, Shemy resigned.
After the school hired Schembechler, people began combing through his social media presence. The Detroit News reported his Twitter feed contained a number of offensive “likes” and posts. Some of them suggested that Jim Crow laws and slavery strengthened black people and their families. He also liked a tweet in which someone claimed African Americans were permanently reliant on government assistance.
After the newspaper outed Schembechler for the social media activity, he deleted more than 2,000 retweets and “likes” on his Twitter account before deleting the account entirely. However, the damage was done.
On Sunday, May 21, Schembechler announced his resignation. A PR firm released a statement for him. He said commentary that diminishes the inequities and suffering black people went through during Jim Crow and slavery “is wrong.” He went on to apologize for his “flippant behavior on Twitter.” Schembechler claimed the others, including black people, would “confirm what they know to be true in [his] heart and head.” He also talked about his father in his statement, apologizing to anyone he offended. Trying to explain his behavior, the late coach’s son said everyone makes mistakes and hoped people would forgive him after learning about his “life’s work, and not any moment of discretion.”
The University of Michigan’s Standard Practice Guide Policy requires every employee to go through a background check. However, for some reason, the school didn’t go through their new assistant recruiting director’s tweets.
Athletic Director Warde Manuel and Coach Jim Harbaugh issued a statement saying the school and athletic department are committed “to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
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