​A week of scandal and scorn for the Michigan athletics department is getting more complicated as another lawsuit adds to the drama.As part of a federal lawsuit alleging he was used as a scapegoat for Michigan’s 2023 sign-stealing scandal, former linebackers coach Chris Partridge alleges that the University and its representatives, including Athletic Director Warde Manuel, knew in advance of multiple prominent scandals, including the love affair of former football coach Sherrone Moore with staffer Paige Shiver.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMore: Ex-Michigan assistant coach Chris Partridge sues university: ‘I was a scapegoat’More: Chris Partridge’s lawsuit suggests he was collateral damage in UM sign-stealing caseManuel, the subject of reports Sunday alleging his job status is not secure, told The Detroit News on Monday that he is staying at Michigan.Partridge names the University of Michigan, its Board of Regents, Manuel, former President Santa Ono and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti as defendants. He alleges that his First Amendment right to free speech and 14th Amendment right to due process were violated, and that there was a conspiracy against him.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMichigan fired Partridge Nov. 17, 2023, in the aftermath of its sign-stealing scandal that earned the University penalties including four years of probation, multimillion-dollar penalties and recruiting sanctions. An NCAA investigation exonerated him, and he told The Detroit News in March that he felt like a scapegoat.“Yes, 100%,” Partridge told The News. “I mean, I don’t feel like it. I know it. We have some pretty strong knowledge of what happened in the conversations and things that happened. So yeah, I know I was a scapegoat.”Former Michigan linebackers coach Chris Partridge is now on the coaching staff for the Seattle Seahawks.In the latest version of the lawsuit filed June 1, Partridge alleges that Ono and Michigan knew of the sign-stealing scandal as early as January 2023. That’s when data accessed to investigate former offensive coordinator Matt Weiss — charged with 24 crimes in March 2025 for hacking into accounts and downloading intimate photos and videos of female college athletes from 2015 to 2023 — revealed evidence of the sign-stealing scandal.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPartridge’s lawsuit alleges Michigan hired an outside law firm to investigate that evidence, which was presented to Ono and Manuel, among other university leaders, sometime before September 2023.“Upon information and belief, Ono instructed those in attendance at the presentation that they were not permitted to take notes, use their cell phones, or record the presentation, and prohibited them from discussing it with anyone outside the room,” the lawsuit claims.Partridge’s suit also alleges that his immediate firing is at odds with how Manuel approached a number of other scandals, including December’s Sherrone Moore saga that saw the