The University of Michighan has confirmed the dismissal of football staffer Alex Yood following the release of a video in September in which two men confronted Yood about allegations that he solicited an encounter with a 13-year-old girl.
Yood’s firing was first reported by 247 Sports and confirmed by Michigan’s athletics department in a statement to the Daily Mail.
“Alex Yood is no longer a member of the athletic department,” according to the statement.
“A problem was brought to our attention, and we moved quickly to handle it with our HR department.” We are unable to comment further on this employment situation.”
Yood was described as a “low level staffer” for Michigan’s football program by 247 Sports.
Boopac Shakur, the alias of a Michigan man named Robert Wayne Lee who has gone viral for luring alleged child predators, posted the video on Instagram at the end of September.
The man identified as Yood is seen in the video wearing Michigan gear and carrying a bottle of alcohol when he is confronted by two men.
Yood initially appears to believe he has been apprehended by police, but the men inform him that they are not police.
When the men ask what Yood is doing, he says he bought the liquor for a graduation party he is hosting in a few days.
Yood is asked his age and says he is 22.
When the men ask what he’s doing at the store and how far he drove, Yood says, “I’m not looking for trouble.”
The men then show Yood photos of his online conversation with the person he allegedly mistook for a 13-year-old girl.
Yood claims he had no idea she was 13, to which they respond that he had been told her age twice during the conversation.
“This man is here to meet a 13-year-old girl!” the two men yell in the store.
There are no court records in Ann Arbor associated with Yood, according to 247.
Shakur was later assassinated in a separate incident.
Meanwhile, the Michigan football program has been embroiled in a sign-stealing scandal involving former Marine Connor Stalions in recent weeks.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh has denied any wrongdoing in the sign-stealing case, as other Big Ten coaches call for the conference to discipline the program.
