Jim Harbaugh takes responsibility for Shemy Schembechler saga

Michigan football landed in hot water weeks ago when it was discovered that new football staffer Glenn “Shemy” Schembechler — son of former former head coach Bo Schembechler — had liked an array of insensitive tweets. Late this week, head coach Jim Harbaugh took the blame for the younger Schembechler getting hired.

Some of the Tweets that Schembechler had liked said things like slavery and Jim Crow laws were good for Black people in America. Schembechler resigned shortly after he was hired and the social media activity came to light.

“Once we became aware of things that were just offensive, offensive to me, offensive to other members of our team, we just didn’t want that mindset around. It’s disappointing. I’ve known Shem for a long time, but there’s no sacred cows, it’s not who we are, it’s not us,” Harbaugh said

Harbaugh said there was outside vetting of Schembechler prior to his hire, including of his social media, but that the insensitive tweets hadn’t surfaced.

Michigan has moved on to using a new company for vetting hires, Harbaugh said.

“I’ve read the report myself, the — we have a company that vets that, social media came back OK. So we’ve got a new company doing, but we’ve gotta be better. And I’ll take responsibility for that. It’s not — if somebody can find that in a day, then we have to be able to be on it ourselves. Sometimes you gotta do stuff yourself,” Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel announced the resignation on May. 20.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel and head coach Jim Harbaugh released a joint statement on the decision.

“Effective this afternoon, Shemy Schembechler has resigned his position with Michigan Football,” the statement read, via The Detroit News’ Angelique Chengelis. “We are aware of some comments and likes on social media that have caused concern and pain for individuals in our community. Michigan Athletics is fully committed to a place where our coaches, staff and student-athletes feel welcome and where we fully support the University’s and Athletic Department’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Schembechler released a statement after he resigned.

“Any words or philosophies that in any way seek to underplay the immeasurable suffering and long-term economic and social inequities that hundreds of years of slavery and the ‘Jim Crow’ era caused for Black Americans is wrong,” Schembechler said, in part. “I was wrong. We must never sanitize morally unsanitary, historical behaviors that have hindered the Black community, or any other community. There are no historical silver linings for the experience of our brothers and sisters.”