Michigan State Hall of Fame receiver Andre Rison told ESPN on Monday that former assistant coach Carl “Buck” Nystom slapped him prior to a game against Illinois in 1986.
“Back then, you just thought it was part of being tough and being a football player that wanted to make it to the National Football League (and) ultimately change the living situations of my mom, brother, sisters and family,” Rison told ESPN.
Nystrom, who was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 2014, was an All-American offensive lineman for the Spartans in the 1950s. He later returned to MSU as an assistant coach under George Perles.
Rison told ESPN that Nick Saban, then an MSU defensive assistant, was one of the people that talked with Rison after the incident.
Rison also told ESPN that he doesn’t feel welcome in the program. Rison’s son Hunter played football for MSU for one season in 2017, but transferred to Kansas State to seek more playing time. Hunter was arrested for domestic battery before suiting up for the Wildcats.
