Ex-Michigan assistant's lawsuit alleges leaders covered up sign-stealing scandal

A former Michigan football assistant coach has amended a lawsuit against the university, alleging that school leaders concealed evidence of the program's sign-stealing scandal as well as additional misconduct, deepening an already turbulent offseason for the Wolverines athletic department.

Chris Partridge, a former Wolverines defensive assistant, claims in the amended filing that athletic director Warde Manuel and then-university president Santa Ono uncovered evidence of the sign-stealing scheme in January 2023 — roughly 12 months before Michigan completed its undefeated season with a national championship victory.

The lawsuit also alleges that Michigan hid evidence related to a separate matter involving former head coach Sherrone Moore, who was Moore's affair, according to reporting on the amended complaint. The filing paints a picture of institutional suppression of multiple overlapping controversies within the football program.

Manuel's Future Under Scrutiny

The amended lawsuit arrives alongside growing speculation about Manuel's standing as athletic director. The completion of the Jenner & Block report — an independent review commissioned amid the department's ongoing troubles — has intensified questions about his future in the role. Michigan is also conducting a search for a new university president, adding further institutional uncertainty to an already unsettled situation.

Partridge's legal action represents one of the more direct challenges yet to the university's handling of the sign-stealing controversy that first drew national attention in 2023. That scandal centered on allegations that Michigan staff members, including an analyst connected to the football program, improperly gathered opposing teams' sideline signals through in-person scouting — a violation of NCAA rules.

The timing alleged in Partridge's suit, if substantiated, would mean that senior university officials were aware of potential wrongdoing well before the NCAA's public investigation began and before Michigan's championship run concluded. The university has not publicly responded to the specific claims in the amended complaint, and no findings from the Jenner & Block report have been publicly released in full.