EAST LANSING, Mich. _ An external investigation into Michigan State's handling of two allegations of sexual assault involving four total football players found no evidence that coach Mark Dantonio violated the school's relationship violence and sexual misconduct policy.
"We also found no evidence that senior leaders within the football program or Athletic Department attempted to impede, cover up, or obstruct the Office of Institutional Equity's (OIE's) investigation into the underlying incidents," the 14-page report reads.
However, the law firm Jones Day, in its findings, determined that a football staff member violated MSU's policy. The investigation was unable to gauge the severity of the violation, and the football staff member involved declined to be interviewed by investigators.
The first alleged sexual assault, involving three players, occurred in the early morning of Jan. 16 at University Village apartments. Ingham County Prosecutor Carol Siemon announced Monday that she will charge the three players for sexually assaulting a woman, but she did not issue charges for the staff member.
MSU's Board of Trustees Monday issued a statement supporting Dantonio, athletic director Mark Hollis and university president Lou Anna K. Simon.
The Jones Day report says Dantonio was made aware of the situation around 2 p.m. on Jan. 16 during a regularly scheduled weekly meeting with a player who was not involved in the alleged incident.
The player reportedly helped the woman, telling Dantonio, "I had to get her out of there. She is my friend." The player who told Dantonio did not provide details of what occurred and did not inform the 11th-year head coach that the situation involved sexual misconduct or an assault.
The Jones Day report says the coach "stopped the player so Dantonio could immediately contact OIE." Here is what happened next, which the report says was corroborated with phone records:
2:01 p.m.: Dantonio first called Brad Lunsford, director of executive football operations.
2:03 p.m. Lunsford texted Dantonio the number for Ande Durojaiye, who is MSU's director of the Office of Institutional Equity.
2:05 p.m.: Dantonio called Durojaiye's office, but the director was not in.
2:12 p.m.: Durojaiye contacted Dantonio, and Dantonio reported what the player told him.
A series of phone calls then were made, first by Dantonio to inform the reporting player that the OIE would interview him, and then more calls with Durojaiye, Hollis and senior associated athletic director Alan Haller.
After those calls, which concluded at 3:32 p.m., Dantonio "did not have additional discussions about the matter with the reporting player and did not investigate further by asking questions of his players or discussing the incident with his staff."
The report says the staff member learned Jan. 16 about the incident after Dantonio had spoken with the player who reported the incident. That staff member then had contact with the three players who were involved in the alleged assault "to determine what had occurred, communicated with the parent of one of those players regarding the incident, and failed to report any information he learned to OIE or MSU."
The staff member was subsequently suspended.
MSU has never identified Curtis Blackwell as that staff member, but his contract was not renewed when it expired May 31 following two one-month renewals. The university has confirmed that Blackwell, the football program's director of college advancement and performance, was suspended with pay on Feb. 9.
That is the same day three unnamed players also were suspended from football activities and removed from on-campus housing. None of the three players were interviewed either, according to Jones Day's report.
A second incident involving Auston Robertson occurred April 8, and Dantonio dismissed him from the team when Siemon's office filed charges for third-degree criminal sexual conduct on April 21.
Jones Day determined that Dantonio "took prompt and appropriate action upon learning from one of his players that another football player may have committed a sexual assault. ...
"Dantonio's prompt reports to University authorities ... demonstrated his commitment to comply with the University's policies regarding sexual misconduct."
