9:03 am | August 30, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
The NCAA does not see a need for further inquiry into any potential violations of the organization’s rules regarding sexual assault issues at Michigan State, the university announced Thursday.
Michigan State said it received a letter from the NCAA’s head of enforcement saying that no NCAA violations were found in a review of how the school responded to sexual assaults committed by former university doctor Larry Nassar or how the school handled separate sexual assault allegations made against members of the football and basketball programs.
“We welcome closure in regards to the NCAA inquiry,” athletic director Bill Beekman said in a statement Thursday morning. “MSU cooperated fully with the inquiry over the past several months and provided all requested documentation and access to key personnel.”
The NCAA contacted Michigan State on Jan. 23 amid the public sentencing hearing for Nassar, who was sentenced to up to 175 years in state prison for using his authority as a doctor to sexually abuse his patients. Several former MSU athletes and others said during those hearings that they told other authority figures on campus about Nassar’s abuse, but their complaints were not taken seriously.
Thursday’s announcement came hours after former gymnastics coach Kathie Klages was arraigned on two counts of lying to police about complaints she received about Nassar. Former youth gymnast Larissa Boyce said she told Klages’ about Nassar’s abuse in 1997, and Klages discouraged her from reporting it to anyone else.
Lindsey Lemke, a former captain of the Michigan State gymnastics team, said Klages ignored her concerns about Nassar in the fall of 2016 and had the team sign a sympathy card for the former team doctor after he was fired.
“It’s a good thing there are multiple other investigations going on other than [the] NCAA, where hopefully they will be able to reveal more truth of how this situation got to be as bad as it did,” Lemke said to WLNS and later to ESPN on Thursday. “If the world’s worst pedophile in history working at MSU and getting away with abuse for 20 years isn’t considered a violation, then what is the point?”
Beekman said in his statement that “the NCAA findings do not change a thing” in regards to the crimes Nassar committed on Michigan State’s campus and in the school’s commitment to improving the health, safety and wellness of athletes at the school.
Michigan State’s statement said the NCAA’s second inquiry into how it handles student-athlete conduct issues stemmed from an Outside The Lines report in January that said the school had shown a “pattern of denial, inaction and information suppression” when handling allegations of sexual misconduct and violence toward women made against athletes at the school.
Beekman said Thursday’s letter from the NCAA provides external validation of how football coach Mark Dantonio and basketball coach Tom Izzo administer their programs.
“Mark and Tom represent the athletic department and Michigan State University with integrity,” Beekman said.
Carolyn Schaner, who alleged in the Outside The Lines report that Michigan State mishandled sexual assault allegations she made in 2010, said she was not contacted by the NCAA as part of its inquiry. Karen Truszkowski, an attorney who represents multiple clients currently suing the university for sexual assault issues involving student athletes, said she also was not contacted by the NCAA for its inquiry.
Lauren Allswede, a former Michigan State sexual assault counselor who spoke to Outside The Lines for that report, said she was interviewed by the NCAA’s investigators but does not feel the issue has been fully resolved at this point.
“I told the investigator my experiences while at MSU, and how my experiences working with allegations involving athletes were handled differently than allegations against non-athletes,” Allswede said. “I have asked different administrators within the university and through several federal investigations about my experiences, with the hope each time that there was an explanation or answer that would justify actions taken and decisions made.
“To this date, nobody has been able to answer my questions or explain why certain cases involving athletes were handled differently. The NCAA concluded their investigation, but I don’t have any clarity or assurance, and I don’t believe there’s been a resolution.”
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