Former University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore and his wife, Kelli, declined to comment Friday after former Michigan executive assistant Paige Shiver told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she had an abortion because of her relationship with Moore.
Shiver, the former executive assistant to Moore, opened up about their relationship in a 5-minute segment Friday that included the additional revelation that their relationship was an "open secret" in the sports program and lasted four years.
Shiver revealed the relationship resulted in a pregnancy that doctors recommended she not keep because of Shiver's genetic Pompe disease. The rare disease causes progressive muscle weakness, respiratory failure and heart issues.
Shiver said through tears and a quivering lip that she wanted to keep the baby, but medical experts told her an abortion would be the healthier decision. ABC reporter Linsey Davis asked what Moore advised.
"He said, 'You have to do what's right for your body,'" Shiver said.
Moore's attorney, Ellen Michaels, told ABC that Moore had closed that chapter of his life. Michaels declined to comment to The News for both Sherrone and his wife, Kelli.
Kelli Moore has been married to Sherrone since July 2015, according to People magazine. While the Moores didn't respond for comment, Ann Arbor 14A District Court Judge Cedric Simpson applauded Moore's wife on April 24 before he sentenced the former football coach to 18 months of probation.
More: Timeline of Sherrone Moore's Michigan career, relations with Paige Shiver
The judge said Kelli "saved" her husband from the court's "wrath."
"There is a certain irony in a lot of this," Simpson said. "It's a big one, in my opinion. The person, quite frankly, Mr. Moore, that is saving you from the full wrath of this court, is the one you betrayed.
"I don't know where your wife, Kelli, finds her strength. When all of the circumstances are happening, and they're happening to her, and she's absorbing them in real time, she not once loses her focus. ... She not once wants something terrible to happen to you."
The judge commended Kelli Moore for calling the police to ask them to find him and warning them that Sherrone Moore was trying to hurt himself.
"And she said something that was remarkable and that was, 'Tell him I love him and I want him to come home.' Incredible."
At one point, the judge said he could hear the family's children in the background as Kelli was calling the police. Kelli and Sherrone More have three daughters.
Kelli leaned on her faith and tried to find a way forward for her family, Simpson said. The judge said he was "amazed" by Kelli and said Moore takes her for granted.
"I am amazed by you, Ms. Moore," Simpson said. "I truly am. I don't know where it comes from. I think, in all honesty, given all the hurt and pain, that if we had more people like you in the world, I may be out of a job, but I think the world would be a better place."
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Sherrone Moore, wife respond to Paige Shiver interview through lawyer