Michigan State interim president John Engler wrote a strongly worded response to the ESPN "Outside the Lines" article that lumped football coach Mark Dantonio and basketball coach Tom Izzo in the same category as Larry Nassar.
The university has come under fire for the way it has handled the sexual abuse claims against Nassar, who has been sentenced to 40-175 years in prison for abusing more than 250 athletes on top of a 60-year sentence for possession of child pornography.
The "Outside the Lines" article had a split image of Izzo and Dantonio next to Nassar, which drew the ire of Engler.
"I viewed with great concern a recent ESPN report that gathered considerable national attention in no small part because it showed a promotional graphic of our head football coach and men's basketball coach with Larry Nassar," Engler wrote.
"This was a sensationalized package of reporting that contained allegation and insinuations that we are now reviewing. ... I hope that MSU can soon repsond in full and affirm the integrity and probity that has been the hallmark of these two respected coaches."
The Michigan State football and basketball programs have been accused of covering up sexual assaults by athletes, which is how Dantonio and Izzo's name got dragged in with Nassar's.
The full statement can be read below:
