Michigan football: Elysee Mbem-Bosse sorry for Jim Harbaugh threats

Former Michigan football player Elysee Mbem-Bosse posted a message on Twitter on Sunday explaining his side of the story over the threatening social media messages that tagged head coach Jim Harbaugh.

But he also wrote that the situation, which has been under investigation by the University of Michigan police, “has been very hard on me mentally, physically, and emotionally.”

“I take full responsibility for tweets i (sic) made regarding the safety of Coach Harbaugh which i (sic) apologize fully for but being harassed by the university police and being told I’m mentally ill without proper evaluation is against my civil rights,” Mbem-Bosse wrote around 10 a.m. Eastern time.

Mbem-Bosse wrote, in part, that he was released by the football team in November “with no explanation why with no timetable for return.”

He also said “after numerous efforts i (sic) was giving (sic) multiple people to contact and nobody returned my calls.”

“At the end of the day i (sic) want to play football,” Mbem-Bosse wrote.

On Saturday, Mbem-Bosse wrote on Twitter: “If i (sic) really threaten someone than (sic) take me to jail dont (sic) give me fake sympathy i (sic) don’t need it nor want it.”

Police confirmed an investigation had begun Tuesday after several menacing tweets, one eventually tagging Harbaugh, were sent by an account belonging to Mbem-Bosse.

Tweets from his account earlier in the week included: “Michigan is open carry. Let’s not forget that. Not your friend” and “They sent someone to my crib before. I was nice enough to call the cops next time I’m calling the morgue. I’m talking with facts.”

Michigan's only official statement on the matter came later in the day Tuesday: "Elysee (Mbem-Bosse) left the football program in mid-November and is no longer with the team."

The Twitter account made claims he was suspended by Michigan in November after he had to deal with a "family crisis." The original tweet that tagged Harbaugh read: "And was suspended for going to take care of my family. You (expletive) (clown emoji)."

More: Michigan's Warde Manuel: Twitter threats to Jim Harbaugh are concerning

On Wednesday, the account tagged Harbaugh again with tweets asking: "what's my status on the team," "let's ask him" and "hope you did everything the right way."

The account also posted a screen shot of a letter sent to Mbem-Bosse from Michigan financial services coordinator Kelly Robinson informing him that the athletic department would be cancelling his "Athletic Aid" at the end of the 2018 winter term. The date of the letter was not shown.

Also on Wednesday, an Instagram account with the same handle shared portions of an unaddressed letter claiming Mbem-Bosse has "For several months been sidelined without an explanation as to what he did or did not do to deserve this treatment. He currently does not know what his status is and where his academic and scholarship situation stands."

Asked Thursday for clarification on what the details of Mbem-Bosse's exit from the team were, a Michigan spokesman said the athletic department could not offer further comment as the matter is an ongoing police investigation.

Speaking with reporters Wednesday in Ann Arbor, athletic director Warde Manuel said the athletic department has reached out to Mbem-Bosse since the situation began. He also expressed concern for both the threatening tweets and the well-being of the student — who, to his knowledge, is still enrolled at Michigan.

“Won’t comment on any of the pending investigation,” Manuel said. “Always concerned with anything that pops up about a threat and also concerned about him and where he is as a student. We care about all of the student-athletes we have, whether or not they are on the team currently or not. And so, both concerned on all ends.

"We’re working on it, everybody in the university that needs to be around this to try to resolve it. We’ll continue to do that.”

Mbem-Bosse came to Michigan as a linebacker recruit from Ellenwood, Georgia in 2016. He appeared in seven games as a true freshman before appearing in four games as a sophomore in 2017. He last played with the team during a win at Maryland on Nov. 11.