Michigan State Football

Michigan State head football coach Mark Dantonio received his annual one-year contract extension Friday.

The news came just over three weeks after Outside the Lines' Paula Lavigne and Nicole Noren published results of an investigation into the school's handling of allegations of sexual assault and violence against women. The report revealed "a pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression" in such cases involving athletes, including members of the school's football and basketball programs. 

According to ESPN.com's Dan Murphy, Dantonio is signed to a rolling contract "which stipulates that one year is added to his deal on an annual basis."

The agreement, which was initially signed in 2016, runs through 2024. 

According to Lavgine and Noren, at least 16 Michigan State football players have been accused of sexual assault or violence since Dantonio started with the program. 

Additionally, OTL reported Dantonio "was said to be involved in handling the discipline in at least one of the cases several years ago."

The 61-year-old later denied any wrongdoing at a press conference. 

"Any accusations of my handling of any complaints of sexual assault individually are completely false," Dantonio told reporters. "Every incident reported in that article was documented either by police or the Michigan State Title IX office. I've always worked with the proper authorities when dealing with sexual assault."

Dantonio was hired by the Spartans in 2007.  During his 11 years at the helm, Michigan State has gone 100-45, including a 5-4 record in postseason play. 

Warning: The following contains graphic descriptions that may be disturbing.

ESPN aired a special edition of E:60 on Sunday morning with details from Outside The Lines reporting on how Michigan State University handled the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal and the alleged rape culture at the school, which included allegations involving the football and men's basketball programs.

The show, which was hosted by Bob Ley and Jeremy Schaap, featured the tagline, "Is Anyone Listening? Crisis at Michigan State."

John Barr and Dan Murphy of ESPN The Magazine spoke with several former MSU student-athletes who said they reported Nassar's actions to the school faculty in the 1990s.

Larissa Boyce told OTL that the disgraced doctor, who was sentenced to a maximum of 175 years in prison Wednesday for sexually abusing women and girls under the guise of treatment, digitally penetrated her "dozens of times" while she was part of the Spartan Youth Gymnastics program.

She spoke about her concerns with former Michigan State head gymnastics coach Kathie Klages, who didn't believe the allegations, in 1997.

"I said that he was putting his fingers inside of me...and that it was uncomfortable, and at that point she just said she couldn't believe that was happening...that was somebody she trusted and knew for years," Boyce said.

Spartans softball player Tiffany Thomas Lopez explained to OTL she felt a similar sense of disbelief when she talked with three trainers and athletic training supervisor Destiny Teachnor-Hauk about Nassar's actions in 1998.

"I felt like they thought I was a liar," Thomas Lopez said. "She brushed me off, and made it seem like I was crazy. She made me feel like I was crazy."

School president Lou Anna Simon resigned Wednesday in wake of the Nassar scandal.

Meanwhile, Paula Lavigne and Nicole Noren of Outside The Lines conducted an investigation that revealed a "pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression" among Michigan State officials regarding allegations of sexual abuse.

Lauren Allswede, a sexual assault counselor at the school until leaving in 2015 amid frustration about the lack of accountability, told OTL a member of the MSU general counsel said to her head football coach Mark Dantonio handled one allegation of sexual assault by having the player "talk to his mother."

Dantonio told reporters Friday characterizations of how he handled such situations were "completely false," while head basketball coach Tom Izzo, who was also mentioned in the OTL report, downplayed speculation he could retire because of the situation.

"I'm not going anywhere, in my mind," he said. "I'm definitely not retiring. There's a lot of things that happened today that are part of life. I'm going to worry about my team, I'm going to worry about the survivors, and I'm going to worry about what I'm going to do."

Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis stepped down Friday amid mounting criticism.

Former Michigan State sexual assault counselor Lauren Allswede said Spartans head football coach Mark Dantonio and head basketball coach Tom Izzo are among those who should "accept individual responsibility" for the alleged rape culture at the school.

On Saturday, Paula Lavigne of ESPN.com passed along comments from Allswede after Dantonio called characterizations made about his handling of sexual assault allegations in an Outside the Lines report released Friday "completely false."

"How can Dantonio say that he cares about survivors and then in the next breath say every report made [Friday] is false?" she wrote in an email. "Everyone at MSU—Dantonio, Izzo included but not just them—needs to accept individual responsibility. Not just acknowledge a social problem or rape culture but reflect more personally on their role in the culture. How do they help prevent rape or support survivors? How do they enable rapists or harm survivors?"

Allswede explained to OTL as part of Friday's report a Michigan State general counsel attorney told her Dantonio responded to one allegation of sexual assault by having the player "talk to his mother."

The former counselor added Saturday she never had an opportunity to meet with Dantonio, Izzo or athletic director Mark Hollis, who stepped down Friday amid backlash from the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal and ESPN's reporting on the sexual assault issues at the university.

"Dantonio and Izzo should tell us how they are weak," Allswede told Lavigne. "They should tell us how they are scared, that they've worried no one will ever love them again. That they have difficulty concentrating or carrying on lighthearted conversation. ... And if you think that's unfair, why do you think it is fair for survivors?"

Izzo downplayed speculation about a potential retirement Friday night after the Spartans' 76-61 victory over Wisconsin.

"I'm not going anywhere, in my mind," he told reporters. "I'm definitely not retiring. There's a lot of things that happened today that are part of life. I'm going to worry about my team, I'm going to worry about the survivors, and I'm going to worry about what I'm going to do."

Along with Hollis, Michigan State President Lou Anna Simon also resigned this week after the emotional sentencing of Nassar, a former MSU doctor who sexually abused women and girls, led to widespread criticism of the school.

Michigan State head football coach Mark Dantonio addressed reporters at the Breslin Student Events Center on Friday night after Outside the Lines' Paula Lavigne and Nicole Noren published a wide-ranging investigation into how the school handled reports of sexual assault and violence against women by members of the basketball and football programs. 

"Any accusations of my handling of any complaints of sexual assault individually are completely false," Dantonio said, according to Yahoo Sports' Jason Owens. "Every incident reported in that article was documented either by police or the Michigan State Title IX office. I've always worked with the proper authorities when dealing with sexual assault."

Dantonio also said reports suggesting he will resign are "absolutely false."

In their report, Lavigne and Noren outlined "a pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression" from school officials regarding reports of sexual assault and violence against women. 

According to the investigation, "at least 16 MSU football players have been accused of sexual assault or violence against women" since Dantonio took over as head coach in 2007. 

In June, Dantonio dismissed Joshua King, Demetric Vance and Donnie Corley from the program after they were charged with sexually assaulting a woman at an on-campus apartment, according to USA Today's Sophia Tulp. 

Former Spartans defensive end Auston Robertson was also kicked off the team in April after he was charged with third-degree sexual misconduct. 

Following the slew of dismissals, Dantonio indicated the program had not previously dealt with similar issues during his time at the helm. 

"This is new ground for us," he told reporters at a press conference in June, per Lavigne and Noren. "We've been here 11 years—it has not happened previously."

On Friday, Outside the Lines reported it "discovered include three reports of physical violence and three reported sexual assaults by football players," all of which were investigated by campus police. 

However, Lavigne and Noren noted it remains "unknown whether campus police or any university administrator ever notified Dantonio about the incidents, or if they did, whether the coach ever disciplined any of the players." 

A Title IX report given to Amanda Thomashow—a former Michigan State student who said she was sexually abused by Larry Nassar—withheld information that was included in the report given to Nassar, according to Matt Mencarini of the Lansing State Journal.

Nassar was investigated by Michigan State's Title IX office in 2014 due to an allegation made by Thomashow against him.

The report given to Thomashow read, "We cannot find that the conduct was of a sexual nature. Thus, it did not violate the Sexual Harassment Policy. However, we find the claim helpful in that it allows us to examine certain practices at the MSU Sports Medicine Clinic."

Nassar's included the same statement, but it also chided him for not adequately explaining procedures to his patients and not obtaining their consent.

Nassar's copy also suggested patients should have the choice between skin-to-skin or over-clothes contact when applicable and called for another person to be in the room during "sensitive procedures" to provide peace of mind.

In a statement provided to Mencarini, Thomashow's attorney, Jim Graves, said:

"MSU had the audacity to keep a second version of the same report undisclosed to my client and the public until now. The second version reveals MSU's additional undisclosed findings that Nassar's 'sensitive procedures, is opening up the practice (MSU Sports Medicine Clinic) to liability and is exposing patients to unnecessary trauma...' MSU's disgraceful actions enabled Nassar's egregious and destructive abuse of girls to continue after my client so bravely reported him to MSU."

Despite being under investigation, Nassar was allowed to see patients for 19 months in 2014 and 2015 at Michigan State, according to ESPN.com's Dan Murphy.

Murphy also reported that while Michigan State's osteopathic school dean Dr. William Strampel discussed the protocol laid out in the report with Nassar, he never did anything to ensure Nassar followed it.

During his time as a doctor, Nassar digitally penetrated multiple victims under the guise of a medical procedure, per Dwight Adams of the Indianapolis Star.

Mark Hollis retired as Michigan State athletic director Friday after Lou Anna Simon resigned as president Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He is awaiting sentencing on a further three counts.

He was previously sentenced to 60 years in prison on child pornography charges.

The Big Ten issued a statement Friday after Paula Lavigne and Nicole Noren of ESPN's Outside the Lines published an explosive report showing "a pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression" from Michigan State officials following numerous complaints of sexual assault and violence committed by members of the school's basketball and football teams. 

"The conference will continue to closely monitor each of the investigations, along with the numerous lawsuits filed against Michigan State University before drawing any conclusions as to whether there is further action required," the statement read, according to ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg. 

According to Lavigne and Noren, "at least 16 MSU football players have been accused of sexual assault or violence against women" since 2007 as were basketball players who were cited in "never-before-publicized reports of sexual or violent incidents."

The report added "MSU has three times fought in court—unsuccessfully—to withhold names of athletes in campus police records. The school has also deleted so much information from some incident reports that they were nearly unreadable."

Outside the Lines' extensive findings were published two days after disgraced United States Olympic gymnastics team doctor and former Michigan State faculty member Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct after more than 150 women and girls came forward and said they had been sexually abused by him under the guise of medical treatment.

The NCAA has since notified the school that it has launched an investigation into potential rules violations. 

"The NCAA has sent a letter of inquiry to Michigan State University regarding potential NCAA rules violations related to the assaults Larry Nassar perpetrated against girls and young women, including some student-athletes at Michigan State," a statement provided to the New York Times' Marc Tracy read. "We will have no further comment at this time."

Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis and school president Lou Anna Simon have both resigned in the aftermath of Nassar's sentencing. 

The Michigan State Spartans extended the Big Ten's early dominance in the bowl season Thursday with a commanding 42-17 victory over the Pac-12's Washington State in the Holiday Bowl at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego.

Michigan State completed its turnaround from last year's 3-9 effort with its 10th win of the 2017 campaign thanks to an impressive performance from quarterback Brian Lewerke. The sophomore threw for 213 yards, ran for 73 more and connected with Cody White twice and Felton Davis III once on touchdown passes.

The Spartans propelled the Big Ten to 3-0 in the bowl season with five games remaining.

The matchup to watch coming into Thursday's showdown featured Washington State's passing attack going against Michigan State's secondary. The Cougars were in second in the country with 374.8 passing yards per game, while the Spartans were 31st in the nation with 196.5 passing yards allowed per game.

However, the highly anticipated clash lost some luster before the game when Fox Sports 1's broadcast noted Washington State quarterback Luke Falk wouldn't play after he was seen with a cast on his left hand (h/t Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press).

What's more, Washington State's top two receivers—Tavares Martin Jr. and Isaiah Johnson-Mack—were out with injuries, per Stefanie Loh of the Seattle Times, meaning signal-caller Tyler Hilinski faced Michigan State's formidable defense in his first career start without a full arsenal of weapons.

The last thing the Cougars wanted to do was fall behind, but that is exactly what they did.

Michigan State used stereotypical Big Ten power football for the first touchdown with a 16-play, 81-yard drive that lasted more than nine minutes and ended with a connection from Lewerke to White. The initial strategy forced Washington State's defense into the box to deal with the physical attack, and Lewerke made it pay with a 49-yard touchdown strike to Davis on a speed-option fake.

Davis was a problem for the Washington State secondary a number of times, as the junior exploded for 118 yards despite an early drop on fourth down.

Ryan Schuiling of The Team 92.1 noted Michigan State has more Davis performances to come:

Felton Davis III is a NFL receiver. But he told me he wants to come back for his senior year, bulk up like Julio Jones, and go for 100 catches and 1,000 yards. Are *you* going to doubt him?

— Ryan Schuiling (@RyanSchuiling) December 29, 2017

He wasn't the only one who exploited the Cougars defense. Touchdown runs from LJ Scott helped make it 21-3 at the half and 42-17 late in the fourth, and he powered his way for 110 rushing yards against an overmatched Washington State front seven.

Michigan State's offensive dominance put the game away before Hilinski responded with two touchdown passes to Davontavean Martin. Hilinski finished with 263 passing yards, two touchdown throws and one interception, but the vast majority of his production was in garbage time.

He also didn't receive any help from the rushing attack considering Washington State finished with 24 yards on eight carries.

The only brief downside for the Spartans was the fact Lewerke temporarily left in the second half after absorbing a hard hit to the head, but backup Damion Terry picked up right where he left off with a touchdown run on a speed-option keeper.

The Spartans hit on all cylinders Thursday and will take plenty of momentum into the offseason before a critical 2018 campaign. They will once again be tested in a deep Big Ten East featuring Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, but the potential return of Scott and Davis means the offense Washington State couldn't stop will be back for more.

Michigan State secured a potential shutdown cornerback Saturday, as Kalon Gervin committed to play for the Spartans.    

He announced his decision with the following tweet:

247Sports lists Gervin as a 4-star prospect, and according to its composite rankings, he is the No. 194 overall recruit, the No. 20 corner and the No. 2 player from the state of Michigan in the 2018 class.

Gervin received interest from an eclectic group of programs spanning multiple conferences and the country.

Per 247Sports, Notre Dame, Michigan, Oregon, Alabama and Oklahoma were among the colleges that offered him scholarships in addition to MSU.

Gervin originally committed to play at Notre Dame, but he rescinded his commitment in May.

After decommitting, Gervin said the following about his decision to distance himself from the Fighting Irish, according to Chris Nelsen for the Detroit Free Press:

"I had to figure out what I wanted from this process. It was an extremely tough decision. ... Nothing against Notre Dame. It just wasn't the right fit. I'm not trying to bash Notre Dame. That's a good school. I'm not trying to put them out there like that. ... They were upset, but it's OK. It's a business. Anything can happen. They didn't stay upset for a long time."

Per 247Sports, Notre Dame's loss was the gain of several programs that previously thought they no longer had a shot at one of the premier cornerback recruits in the class of 2018.

Gervin is a Detroit native and a standout at Cass Technical High School, and he boasts some impressive physical traits that made him highly sought-after on the recruiting trail.

Although his size is somewhat modest at 5'11" and 180 pounds, he has speed to burn, as evidenced by his verified 40-yard-dash time of 4.38 seconds, according to Scout (h/t Jared Purcell of MLive.com).

While continuing to add strength will likely be a focus for Gervin as he heads toward the collegiate ranks, his speed is a huge asset in terms of limiting the opposition's ability to beat him deep.

Though Michigan State fell short of keeping a hometown product in state originally, it made the most of a second opportunity.

The Spartans have traditionally been excellent at recruiting within the state of Michigan, and that figures to be among the biggest keys to help them return to the elite ranks.

The rival Michigan Wolverines have undoubtedly cut into their recruiting mojo since the arrival of head coach Jim Harbaugh in 2015, but landing Gervin was a coup that could be a sign of things to come.

Michigan State running back LJ Scott will play during Saturday's game against Big Ten rival Indiana after he was arrested earlier this week for driving without a suspended license. 

Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio said in a statement released Friday that Scott resolved the issue with his license that led to his arrest. 

“In what has been a lengthy process, LJ Scott now has a valid driver’s license, free of any restrictions,” the statement said (via Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press). “He has resolved the matter completely, and has paid a price, both financially and publicly. His status will be affected for Saturday’s game, but he will play.”

Scott was arrested Wednesday by East Lansing police for driving with a suspended license, making it the seventh time he has been held on that charge or a similar charge. 

East Lansing Police spokesman Lt. Chad Connelly said Scott was released on a personal recognizance bond, per Christopher Haxel of the Lansing State Journal. 

Because Scott had at least one prior conviction for driving with a suspended license, he could have been facing up to one year in jail if the situation hadn't been resolved. 

Now in his junior season, Scott leads Michigan State with 408 rushing yards. He had a season-high 194 yards on 25 carries against Minnesota last week. 

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Michigan State running back LJ Scott was arrested Wednesday for driving on a suspended license, the seventh time he has been held on a similar charge.

Scott, 21, was released on personal recognizance bond, East Lansing Police spokesman Lt. Chad Connelly told Christopher Haxel of the Lansing State Journal.

The charge carries a maximum of up to one year in jail because Scott had been convicted of a similar charge in the past. He has been charged with driving without a license or on a suspended license six times since the beginning of 2016.

Most of those charges have been later reduced via plea deals. It's unclear why Scott's license was initially suspended.

A Michigan State spokesperson did not comment when reached by Haxel.

Scott, a junior, has rushed for 408 yards and three touchdowns this season. The school has given no indication whether he will be in the lineup for Saturday's game against Indiana. 

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