House Speaker: MSU President Should Resign Amid Nassar Scandal

EAST LANSING (WWJ) -- Should the president of Michigan State University step down from her position after the gymnastics Dr. Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal? That's what the Michigan House Speaker Tom Leonard believes.

Leonard is calling for Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon to resign over her handling -- or lack thereof -- in the Nassar sexual assault scandal. Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick says Leonard calls Simon's handling of the case grossly incompetent and, at worse, part of a cover-up.

"He says the healing process can not begin at the university until 'there is a new leader,'" Skubick told WWJ Newsradio 950. "The MSU Board of Trustees is on record with a letter to the editor saying it has full confidence in Dr. Simon. (She) has had no comment on this blockbuster of a story, which indicates there could be some movement in the legislature to look into this if an independent agency does not take a look into what happened at MSU or who knew what and when about Dr. Nassar's conduct."

Lawyers said last week that no one at Michigan State was aware of the sexual abuse of young female athletes. Patrick Fitzgerald made the disclosure in a letter to state Attorney General Bill Schuette, who had asked for the university's internal report on Nassar.

Fitzgerald said there is no report or "Fitzgerald findings." But he said Michigan State is "ready, willing and able to cooperate" with any inquiry by state or federal authorities.

University of Michigan president Dr. Mark Schlissel was asked about the handling of the Nassar case from his point of view, but he didn't want to get into the details of it. However, he did say that he can see how some are pointing fingers at Simon in this incident.

"It is a pretty common instinct to look to the leader of an organization and blame them," Schlissel said during a meeting at the Detroit Economic Club. "So as the leader of an organization I think you have to be very thoughtful and very careful about where you place blame for a challenging problem."

Schlissel added that Michigan has proper policies and procedures in place to handle an incident of this nature.

Nassar, who had more than 37,000 images of child porn on electronic devices, was sentenced last week to 60 years in prison on three federal charges, the maximum penalty allowed. Separately, he'll be sentenced in state court in January for molesting gymnasts with his hands. His federal and state sentences will be served consecutively.

In:
• Michigan State University
• Sexual Assault
• University of Michigan