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Paige Shiver on Good Morning America (Screenshot from video)
Paige Shiver, the former executive assistant to fired University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore, says she was pregnant with him but reluctantly had to get an abortion because of a genetic disorder.
In an interview aired Friday on ABC's Good Morning America, Shiver, 32, said she thought she loved him, but reflecting on what happened, "that's not love at all."
She said Moore had complete control over her emotions and career, knowing he could fire her at any time. And she says he manipulated her into staying in the on-and-off relationship for four years.
"Every time I tried to pull away, he always had a story, 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."
She said the relationship began at age 28, when she was an intern with the athletic department and Moore was a 36-year-old offensive coordinator for the football team.
Shiver said she was appearing on TV to send a message to other women that they don't have to put up with situations like this.
She said at one point she got pregnant with Moore. She wanted to have the baby. But doctors told her she had Pompe, a genetic disorder that weakens muscle strength, and that she shouldn't go through with the pregnancy. So, she got an abortion.
At that point, she said Moore, who is married with children, told her it was good to do what was best for her health.
She said last Dec. 10 she finally decided to disclose the relationship to the university, which promptly fired Moore, setting off a scandal that became fodder for publications and TV outlets around the country.
She said after the firing he barged into her apartment in Pittsfield Township, which resulted in criminal charges and a sentence of 18 months probation.
"All of a sudden I hear footsteps and they're getting closer and louder and I'm like 'crap,'" she recounted when Moore came to her apartment.
"So I run to my door to try to lock it. He barges in and he's standing like this close to me and he said, 'you ruined my life, why would you do this to me?' And then... I start backing up and he starts following me."
She said she feared for her life.
"He's 6'4" and he comes in with his hood up looking down at me saying I ruined his life, crying... then starts coming at me, and I tell him to leave, that he's not supposed to be here. He's not listening to me and then he starts grabbing, yes, butter knives."
Instead of getting probation, she said Moore should have gotten jail time.
