Lansing City Pulse "Izzo Fully Informed"

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This is same few paragraphs as the image above. Hopefully it will be a bit easier to read.

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Get a Grip

February 21st, 2018 at 7:56 PM ^

Due to the "interesting" format that the article was shared in. I typed it up while looking at it and didn't compare or proofread it, so it may not be perfect, but it should be close enough.



"IZZO FULLY INFORMED

New documents detail MSU Appling/Payne housing irregularities

                In response to the sexual assault allegations against two standout freshman Michigan State University basketball players in 2010, the university ignored its own sexual assault protocols in moving Keith Appling and Adreian Payne out of Wonders Hall, newly obtained documents show.

                Additionally, the documents show MSU Basketball Coach Tom Izzo was not only informed about the case against his players, but that he quickly met with Associate Athletic Director Alan Haller, a former MSU Police officer, and Assistant Coach Mike Garland as well as the players hours after a search warrant was executed on their dorm room.

                The new documents include letters from federal investigators from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, the university’s reponses and dozens of pages of emails created in the wake of the 2010 sexual assault allegations.

                The emails show that Appling and Payne moved without a hearing, violating the standing protocols of the university. Nothing in the documents explains why an exception was made.

                “In most cases, we would remove the alleged perpetrators out of the hall only after an investigation and a contract hearing,” Paul Rinella, complex director of Wonders Hall, wrote to Eduardo Olivo, assistant director of residence life, on Sept. 2, 2010, several days after the alleged assault. A contract hearing is a reference to a stipulation in the student housing contract all on-campus students sign.

                The statement was in response to a directive from Olivo to follow the sexual assault protocol “to the letter.”

                “Nothing about this case has been ‘to the letter,’” Rinella wrote.

                Neither Rinella nor Olivo would comment for this report. They directed questions to a university spokesman instead. Kent Cassella, associate vice president for communications and senior PR strategist for MSU, declined to answer specific questions about the document or the emails.

                The new documents detail the MSU Athletic Department’s involvement with the explosive Appling/Payne charges and how fully informed Izzo was about the matter.

                Both players continued to dress in the Spartan uniform and participate in games. This is despite Izzo’s fully being briefed on the allegations and the investigation on Aug. 31, just hours after MSU served a search warrant on the dorm room Appling and Payne shared in Wonders Hall. Payne agreed to go with investigators and gave a videotaped statement to detectives about the alleged assault.

                A response from MSU’s deputy general counsel, Kristine Zayko, just named acting chief counsel upon the retirement of Robert Noto announced Tuesday, to an inquiry by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights shows MSU Police Chief Jim Dunlap called Mark Hollis, then athletic director, on Aug. 31, 2010. The assault allegedly occurred on Aug. 29 and was reported to law enforcement on Aug. 30.

                Hollis directed Haller to meet with Izzo and others about the allegations. Haller was an MSU football player who became an officer for Michigan State University Police Department commanding the uniform division. That division would often handle the first contact with sexual assault victims filing criminal complaints.

                “Mr. Haller met with Coach Izzo, the two male students and Assistant Basketball Coach (Mike) Garland to explain what the potential charges were, and how the criminal justice process worked, and to instruct the students to refrain from attending any social gatherings and to have no contact with the complaintant,” Zayko wrote.

                The Office of Civil Rights investigation ultimately determined that while MSU’s delay in instituting a Title IX investigation into the sexual assault allegation had contributed to a sexually hostile environment, the university handled the case appropriately, including the reassignment of the players to the apartment.

                Zayko’s response indicates Rinella met with Olivo and Paul Goldblatt, then director of residence life, on Sept. 1, two days after the university was informed of the investigation and allegations.

                “Mr. Rinella was instructed to move the male students to another campus living location while the university investigated the sexual assault allegations,” Zayko wrote to OCR investigators. “Mr. Rinella immediately coordinates the students’ move to an apartment in Spartan Village, Mr. Rinella met with Assistant Basketball Coach Mike Garland and the two male students, Mr. Rinella took the keys away from the residents and informed them, with their coach present, that they were not allowed back in Wonders Hall unless they first contacted him.”

                Later in the document, Zayko wrote that Goldblatt issued the order to move the students from Wonders Hall. Zayko argued that the two men wanted to remain in a dorm, but the decision was made to place them in Spartan Village, which normally is not available for first-year students.

                “Given the severity of the allegations against the male students, the university determined it was not appropriate for them to remain in the residence hall system pending investigation on the complaint,” Zayko wrote.

                The criminal investigation was completed Sept. 2, when then-Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III declined to issue a warrant for the players’ arrest. University officials at that point began to struggle with whether to bring housing contract hearings and judicial hearings against the players for violating the university’s sexual harassment policies. Pursuing either process would have required the alleged victim, Carolyn Schaner, to pursue actions, forcing her to testify and give statements at least twice. Schaner has identified herself to the media.

                To address the victims’ concerns about testifying, the university changed its policy to allow it to begin investigations into sexual assaults and harassment claims independently and without victim participation.

                An outside investigator hired to conduct that review determined by a “preponderance of the evidence” the university’s sexual harassment policies were not violated and that evidence could not determine whether the alleged assault was consensual.

                Schaner reported to police that both men were seen dining in Wonders Hall on at least two occasions, according to reports filed with MSU Police. This would have violated Rinella’s direction that the men not enter Wonders Hall without contacting him first. The university determined that because the men were cooperating, there was no need to issue a no-trespass letter barring them from Wonders, despite giving them verbal warnings to that effect.

                Appling and Payne were never given a formal housing contract hearing to back up the administrative decision to move them to an apartment in the Spartan Village complex.

-TODD HEYWOOD"

maizenbluedevil

February 21st, 2018 at 5:38 PM ^

Doesn’t mean a thing.

I would be SHOCKED if he doesn’t finish out the year.

This makes a Hollis-style retirement after the season a bit more likely, but that’s the best we can hope for here. They told the world everything there is to know about how they intend to handle all this when they hired Engler. Those wagons are circled.

ldd10

February 21st, 2018 at 5:50 PM ^

...did people not think Izzo knew and would be aware given he was HC? I don't think he's ever denied knowing.

I'm confused.

ldd10

February 21st, 2018 at 6:13 PM ^

Yeah, if something comes out that Izzo personally pushed/bribed/whatever to make sure they weren't charged he should absolutely be fired.

Otherwise, multiple entities investigated the players and cleared them.  I don't think anybody would expect Harbaugh or Beilein to dismiss a player if they are accused of a crime that is investigated and they are exonerated.  

 

Squash34

February 22nd, 2018 at 1:58 AM ^

I mean, Harbaugh kicked LTT off the team for taking consensual sex without telling the girl, and I believe he did so before charges were officially made.
That is far less than the MSU player admitted to on that tape, which izzo almost certainly was told about considering how informed these documents show. You don't have to wait for a discussion from a currupt DA. You can kick them off the team for breaking moral or ethical team rules. Admitting to what the kid admitted too certainly gives grounds for dismissal for that.

gustave ferbert

February 22nd, 2018 at 6:18 AM ^

he disciplines the team and discloses only what he is allowed to.  It's just that we the fanbase are so cravenly obsessed about the the team that we scour the posted roster for changes  Then those changes get posted up here and we all get worked up why Grant Perry isn't on the roster.  It turns into a thing, some poster on here files a foia request and then we study the court records and police blotters that are public record and we find out what happened.  

None of that happens at MSU.  They rejoice over the occasional high quality player, but ultimately, their love fest is centered around Izzo and Dantonio and anyone who can beat Michigan.  Hell we even do it for them.  When Glenn Winston gets released from jail.  This blog is shouting it from the rooftops.  No one in Lansing cares.  Because if Izzo and Dantonio (and Hollis) allowed it, it must be virtuous. 

saveferris

February 22nd, 2018 at 7:33 AM ^

I think the problem is that while Izzo may not have been criminally liable, his defense is starting to sound something along the line's of Paterno's, "I didn't know what to do about it".  Suggesting that Izzo didn't know he was on ethically shaky ground keeping Payne and Appling on the team is a stretch.  The Lansing law enforcement community failed the public in the handling of this case, but Izzo failed MSU by putting winning ahead of ethics.

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

February 21st, 2018 at 8:28 PM ^

But universities also operate under Title IX and their own code of student conduct (the accuser was a MSU student and the incident occurred on campus), and the basketball team should have it’s own standards. Look no further than Harbaugh booting LTT - not legal, Title IX or UM rationale but UM Football standards.

Even though Dunnings passed on the case prior to the season, Izzo apparently aided the players in the process and clearly applied no stern measures for violating the bball program standards. If Payne yelled at Izzo in practice, he probably would have been benched. Gang rape a co-ed, nothing but help from Izzo.

ldd10

February 21st, 2018 at 10:03 PM ^

I understand that. But, again, multiple entities found the students did not commit a crime.

I'm not clear Izzo did anything wrong in not administering punishment. It seems like a dangerous precedent to punish student athletes in this scenario - say a couple game suspension - when the case would become public knowledge and the allegation would be known despite no charges being pressed.

Squash34

February 22nd, 2018 at 2:02 AM ^

So you are arguing that since the title 9 and DA cover for athletes izzo is spared any accountability for allowing them to play after know the allegations and that one of the players basically admitted she tried to stop them?

WorldwideTJRob

February 22nd, 2018 at 4:52 AM ^

Look I don’t like Izzo as much as the next guy, but we don’t know for sure that the DA and Title XI did not try to push this under the rug. It is possible they investigated thoroughly above board and found nothing to incriminate the kids for. The video tape is pretty damning but right now this article kind of validated the school that they did conduct 2 investigations and both cleared the players.

Terrible Ted

February 22nd, 2018 at 12:35 PM ^

that there's enough smoke to warrant a truly independent investigation. Izzo and Dantonio don't need to be directly involved. Even if they are aware of any cozy relationship with local prosecuting authorities, they would want to maintain plausible deniability.

BuckNekked

February 22nd, 2018 at 5:35 AM ^

Doesnt Paynes video confession pretty much tell us that the fix was in and the fact that multiple entities found the students didnt commit a crime was complete bullshit? Doesnt it also show Izzo only cared about plausible deniability and not one iota for the well being of students who didnt effect the outcome of MSU basketball games? 

If the way Izzo handled these matters doesnt show he should be fired immediately (which imo he should) it does show he is a POS human being.

jbrandimore

February 21st, 2018 at 5:57 PM ^

Look at the decisive action Izzo took! He immediately moved to have his players move from the dorm to an apartment to diffuse the situation and look out for the victim's best interests.

Ty Butterfield

February 21st, 2018 at 5:59 PM ^

Of course he knew. He should have already been fired. At most he will “retire” after this season but I doubt that even happens. Those bastards better not win the national title.