EAST LANSING, Mich. _ Mark Dantonio would not address the dismissal of defensive lineman Auston Robertson on Tuesday, other than calling him "a risk" as the former player faces sexual assault charges.
But later that afternoon, university Board of Trustees member Mitch Lyons said in a radio interview that Robertson was the player who told Michigan State's football coach about an alleged January sexual assault involving Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance.
In a Tuesday interview with WBBL-FM 107.3, Lyons confirmed that Robertson was the player who reported the January incident to Dantonio.
"When Auston Robertson came into his office for a regularly weekly meeting, Coach D asked him the regular questions he typically asks him, and then (Robertson) became a little emotional and didn't even go into details," Lyons told WBBL-FM 107.3 "He alluded to the fact that something happened. And Coach D had a sense that it involved some sort of sexual allegation, and he immediately said, 'Don't say anything more.' "
The news adds a complex wrinkle to two separate allegations of sexual assault hovering over the MSU program _ one in April involving Robertson and the other involving King, Corley and Vance.
Robertson, 19, of Fort Wayne, Ind., was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct for an alleged sexual assault April 8 in Meridian Township. The defensive lineman was dismissed from the program April 22.
Ingham County Prosecutor Carol Siemon charged King, Corley and Vance for their roles in an alleged sexual assault of a different woman that occurred at an on-campus apartment in the early morning hours of Jan. 16.
Defensive lineman King, 19, of Darien, Ill., is charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, as well as with capturing an image of an unclothed person. Wide receiver Corley, 19, and safety Vance, 20, both of Detroit, are charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Dantonio dismissed those three Tuesday morning after arrest warrants were issued.
All three former players were freshmen who were part of MSU's 2016 recruiting class.
MSU commissioned attorneys at Jones Day to conduct an external investigation into the January case. In its 14-page report, the law firm said a fourth player (who was not named in the findings) informed Dantonio of that alleged assault hours after the incident. That report was expanded to look into the charges against Robertson.
The problems Robertson is facing are not his first legal issues.
Robertson also was arrested in January 2016 on a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from an October 2015 incident at his high school in Fort Wayne. He was accused of improperly touching a female classmate, according to Allen Superior Court 4 records. He entered into a diversionary program for that case, which he completed March 11.
"As Mark has said before, it was fully vetted by campus," athletic director Mark Hollis said of the decision to give Robertson a football scholarship. "So there were a lot of individuals that took a look at the evidence at that time that was presented, and the decision was made to admit him to the university."
Those charges from the October 2015 incident were cleared from Robertson's record March 22 this year after he fulfilled the terms of his diversionary program and by not getting into further trouble, according to court records.
Eighteen days later, he was accused of sexually assaulting an MSU student.
In September 2015, Robertson also had charges dropped after allegations of criminal mischief/damaging property and resisting law enforcement, according to Allen Superior Court 5 records.
Robertson did not sign with MSU on signing day in 2016 after the first incident was reported. Dantonio announced Robertson's signing March 30 that year, 19 days after he entered into the diversionary program.
After signing Robertson, Dantonio said: "Given all the information available to us, we believe Auston should be provided with an opportunity to begin his education and playing career at Michigan State."
Dantonio on Tuesday referred to his April statement that Robertson "underwent an extensive educational process" that included "daily supervised sessions within the football program and regular meetings with university staff addressing appropriate behavior and developmental growth." Robertson's diversionary program included a 22-week course focused on behavior changes that began in Indiana and was transferred to the state of Michigan's Prevention and Training Services program.
"We've never intentionally brought a guy in here and said, 'Hey, that guy's going to be a bad guy,' " Dantonio said Tuesday. "Obviously, we took a risk as you said earlier. We vetted the young man. Prior to that, that has never happened as I can recollect."
The Jones Day report says Dantonio was made aware of the first alleged sexual assault around 2 p.m. on Jan. 16. Robertson reportedly helped the woman, telling Dantonio, "I had to get her out of there. She is my friend." The player 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, according to the findings.
Dantonio reportedly then stopped the player so he could immediately contact MSU's Office of Institutional Equity (OIE), which is school policy on how employees should handle situations which could violate the university's relationship violence and sexual misconduct policy.
The Jones Day report determined that Dantonio "took prompt and appropriate action" by reporting the incident to OIE and "demonstrated his commitment to comply with the University's policies regarding sexual misconduct."
Lyons said he agreed with Dantonio's view of the January assault allegations and for dismissing King, Corley and Vance from the football program.
"Much to what Coach D said, criminal or not, but the actions they've already admitted to doing, from a moral standpoint, are disgusting and have no place in our university," Lyons said.
Hollis said he has created a three-person panel to oversee "rules and areas within our football program." That is comprised of Elliott Daniels, the athletic department's director of learning and retention, whom Hollis said will be promoted to associate athletic director; former police officer Alan Haller, the senior associate athletic director and "Varsity S Club" executive director; and Jennifer Smith, the senior associate athletic director for compliance services.
