Michigan State, athletic department slammed in explosive ESPN report

An investigation by ESPN's "Outside the Lines" into Michigan State University and its athletic department "found a pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression of such allegations by officials ranging from campus police to the Spartan athletic department … well beyond the highly publicized case of former MSU athletic physician Larry Nassar."

The more than 6,000-word report based on the investigation, under the headline, "Michigan State secrets extend far beyond Larry Nassar case," was published Friday afternoon and, if accurate, could send more tremors through an embattled and embarrassed university.

A special, one-hour edition of "E:60" will air at 9 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPN that, according to the network, details a pervasive failure by Michigan State to properly handle multiple reports of sexual assault and allegations of violence involving athletes and athletic department members.

"Even MSU's most-recognizable figures, football coach Mark Dantonio and basketball coach Tom Izzo, have had incidents involving their programs, 'Outside the Lines' has found," ESPN's Paula Lavigne writes in the in-depth report that also included work by investigative reporter John Barr, investigative producer Nicole Noren and staff writer Dan Murphy.

The bombshell report comes the same week Nassar was sentenced in a Lansing, Mich., court to 40 to 175 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct, some in his role as an MSU athletic department physician.

It offers a compelling and detailed case — built around never-before-publicized reports of sexual or violent incidents, purportedly kept quiet by an array of university or university-related officials — for how deeply the dysfunction may run at the Big Ten school that already this week has seen the resignations of university president Lou Anna Simon and athletic director Mark Hollis.

Hollis resigned Friday, two days after "Outside the Lines" sought interviews with multiple administrators and athletic officials, including Hollis, Izzo and Dantonio, and told MSU of the main findings of its investigation, ESPN reported.

The university declined to answer specific questions, according to the network, but issued a statement Thursday that read, in part: "Over the past several years, we have dedicated significant new resources to strengthening our efforts to combat sexual violence. Every day, people across campus are working diligently on this critical issue. We acknowledge, however, that we have sometimes fallen short of our goal and the expectations of others. It is clear more needs to be done, and we are using every resource available to get better."

The situation begins to feel eerily similar to the one at Baylor University that eventually led to the exits of the university president, athletic director and football coach.

Michigan State is facing multiple Title IX lawsuits and is under federal investigation.