The NCAA this week announced it was investigating Michigan State for how it handled Larry Nassar.
The NCAA announced Tuesday it was launching an investigation into Michigan State.
That decision, which centered on the university’s handling of disgraced former sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar, reportedly came more than seven years after the NCAA was alerted about sexual assaults on campus by athletes.
According to The Athletic, NCAA president Mark Emmert was told in November 2010 about 37 reports of Michigan State athletes sexually assaulting women by Kathy Redmond, the founder of the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes. Redmond said she sent the letter to Emmert after meeting with him in person to talk about sexual assaults.
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In the letter, Redmond wrote ” In the past two years alone, 37 reports of sexual assault by MSU athletes have been reported, but not one disciplinary sanction was imposed by school officials against any of the men involved.”
Redmond told The Athletic that during her meeting with Emmert, she raised specific concerns about Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon, who at the time was a member of the NCAA’s Division I Board of Governors. Redmond said she sent copies of her letter to members of the Board of Governors, including Simon, and initially believed Emmert, who was in his first year as NCAA president, would be an ally as she advocated for better protection of women.
“What I really got from the experience with Mark Emmert was, that governing body governs him,” Redmond told The Athletic. “He met with me, which was great and I appreciated that. But the governing board has an awful lot of power…. It’s a strange setup. You do kind of get the fox guarding the hen house mentality. You do feel like the NCAA doesn’t like to do investigations because they like their relationships (with university officials and conferences). I think Mark Emmert came in with the right tone but quickly realized, ‘There’s not a lot I can do here.'”
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The NCAA sent a letter of inquiry on Tuesday to Michigan State, which the university released Wednesday, along with a statement from athletic director Mark Hollis, who said the school was preparing “a comprehensive response.” On Wednesday, Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexual assault and that night Simon announced her retirement. During a press conference Friday morning, Hollis announced his retirement – just a couple hours before ESPN published a report questioning the university’s handling of complaints of sexual assault, violence and gender discrimination.
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The Big Ten on Friday released a statement saying it will “closely monitor” investigations into Michigan State before determining if further action is necessary.
