Mark Dantonio Denies ESPN 'Outside the Lines' Report
Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio denied an ESPN Outside the Lines report Friday and said he won't be resigning.
He said, "Any accusations of (his) handling of any complaints of sexual assault individually are completely false."
Dantonio met with reporters at the Breslin center before Michigan State's basketball game against Wisconsin on Friday after the report released earlier in the day alleged the Michigan State football program did not report three instances of sexual assault and three incidents of physical violence.
Outside the Linesreported that at least 16 Michigan State football players have been named in accusations of rape or violence against women since Dantonio took over in 2007.
After expressing sympathies with the survivors of former Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar's abuse, he said "every incident reported in that article was documented by police or the Michigan state Title IX office." He said he's worked with the proper authorities.
Dantonio originally said he'd would be taking no questions, but then took two following his statement because he felt "steadfast in what (he) said", saying rumors about his possible resignation were "absolutely false." He was also asked when he found about out about the sexual assaults, and he said he found out from authorities.
He ended by saying he felt it was "important to address this and look people in the eye."
The Outside the Lines report contradicted Dantonio's assertion that there had only been two incidents of sexual assault during his 11-year tenure as head coach.
"We had one incident that involved three people. We had another incident that involved one. We have 120 players usually on our football team," Dantonio told reporters after four players were kicked off the team and expelled from the university for sexual assault earlier this year.
The Outside the Lines' report details a culture of sexual assault within Michigan State's football and basketball programs. The university's athletic department has been in headlines for its mishandling of the Nassar case; Nassar was a faculty member at the university for decades and sexually abused multiple students under the guise of medical treatment during his time there.
Nassar, the former Team USA gymnastics doctor, was sentenced Wednesday to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing more than 150 women and girls, including Olympic medalists McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Jamie Dantzscher, Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles, under the guise of providing medical treatment.
He was already sentenced to 60 years for possession of child pornography.
