OT: Engler being called upon to step down

Submitted by oriental andrew on

Things are getting crazier at msu. In the wake of Engler's email stating that he believed Rachel Denhollander (the first Nassar victim to come forward publicly) was doing this all for kickbacks from her attorney and publicity (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michigan-state-university-john-engler-larry-nassar-victim-rachael-denhollander/), he is now being called upon to resign by state lawmakers and msu BOT members. 

"The survivors now are being manipulated by trial lawyers who in the end will each get millions of dollars more than any of individual survivors with the exception of Denhollander who is likely to get kickback from Manley for her role in the trial lawyer manipulation," Engler said, misspelling attorney John Manly's name.

Engler "can't conceive that I would do what I've done because it's right, not because I'm getting something from it. I truly pity him. What a sad way to live," Denhollander said in response.

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/06/engler_should_resign_from_msu.html

"It's time for John Engler to resign, retire and get out of the way of MSU's future," said [Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge], the first of nine lawmakers to call for Engler's resignation.  

Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, represents the district that contains the university. Yes, he said, he thinks Engler should resign so the university can heal. He was taken aback by the language of Engler's email.  

"I don't know how anyone could feel comfortable talking about survivors like that. I think it goes well beyond any official role, I think it goes to just basic human decency," Hertel said.  

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, supports Engler resigning.  

"I am very disappointed in his comments about the sister survivors. Not only are they completely off-base, they're coming from someone who is supposed to be reforming a culture of victim blaming and secrecy. This is a clear indicator that his time at MSU needs to come to an end," he said in a statement. 

http://www.wilx.com/content/news/MSU-trustee-calls-for-Englers-resignation-485660661.html

A Michigan State University trustee is calling for the resignation of it's interim president.

In a statement released to News 10 Friday morning, trustee Brian Mosallam called for Interim President John Engler to resign.

Mosallam is the first trustee to do so.

The statement reads in part, " I no longer believe that John Engler’s presence on this campus will allow Michigan State University to move forward. We need leadership that sets a tone of empathy and compassion towards our courageous survivors, and reembraces them as important members of our Spartan community. John Engler simply can no longer do that. And for these reasons, John Engler should step down immediately as this university's interim president."

Wondering when Carol Viventi also gets fired or "asked to resign." Hopefully, she goes down with Engler, b/c she seems just as bad, if not worse. 

http://www.wilx.com/content/news/Engler-silent-following-release-of-survivor-emails-485613401.html

[Trustee Brian] Mosallam also questions Engler's role as interim president.

Emails also reveal Engler's top aide, Carol Viventi, accused Mosallam of not doing enough to protect Engler.

“This isn't about protecting anybody,” said [Trustee Dianne] Byrum. “This is making sure that we heal the campus community, we provide healing for the survivors and that we focus on the future and making sure that we are changing the culture permanently.”

NittanyFan

June 15th, 2018 at 10:50 AM ^

Ah, typical politicians (and the MSU BoT members are politicians themselves).  They're cautious to be the "lone wolf" to take a stand, but once a couple of them take a stand, they ALL can't wait to jump on the ship.  Safety in numbers.

But it's inevitable now.  Engler's done.

oriental andrew

June 15th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^

Indeed. How arrogant this guy is...

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/06/15/msu-engler-resign-mosallam-trustee/704520002/

"I continue to look ahead. Whatever the tensions were before, we have successfully negotiated a settlement agreement — something that is fair and equitable to both sides, and that both sides agreed to," Engler said. "We are now committed to continuing our efforts to strengthen sexual misconduct prevention on and off campus and to respond promptly to and appropriately if prevention fails.


I am looking forward to the Board of Trustee meeting next week where we will continue our progress and efforts to move forward. I believe actions matter, and that is how the success of our work will be determined."

NittanyFan

June 15th, 2018 at 11:36 AM ^

Yeeeesh.

I wonder how many votes it takes to fire.  2 Board members have made their statements.  But 4 others are from the same party of Engler.  And then the other 2 are Ferguson and Perles --- those two certainly don't have a proven track record of "doing the right thing."

It's probably going to get ugly ........

NittanyFan

June 15th, 2018 at 3:27 PM ^

I don't like Jay Paterno.  And I certainly didn't vote for him with my alumni vote.

But --- he hasn't done anything dumb or ugly thus far in his 12 months on the Board.  He's certainly acted 10000000x better than some other recent PSU members (Al Lord). 

So, good for Jay for that (as it is).  We'll see if it continues.

Besides, don't get TOO self-righteous.  Joel Ferguson obtained his seat on the Board without any shenanigans.  Michigan voters elected Ferguson (multiple times).  I used to live in the state of Michigan, and I don't want anything bad to happen to any of U-M, MSU, or Wayne State.  But it's not inconceivable that the University of Michigan someday gets saddled their own idiotic and troublesome Board members.

mgobaran

June 15th, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^

Fire him and then MSU needs to fully clean house themselves. EVERYONE knew Engler would be a disaster. The people responsible for putting him in his position need to be gone before they make the next mistake. 

Njia

June 15th, 2018 at 1:10 PM ^

"A history of dismissive attitudes towards sexual assault..."

Absolutely true; and yet, even if I were to allow for "the world has changed since he was governor," or "maybe he's grown in the last 20 years," that would have somehow attempted to his former statements and actions into the cultural or societal context of the '80s and '90s, this is another level of fuckheadery. That's what I find so surprising. 

kehnonymous

June 15th, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^

Holy fecking shitsnacks.  If I were to write a screenplay about a cadre of buffoons running a university and doing everything they could to piss all over its reputation and incorporate.... all of MSU from this year, every script doctor in Hollywood would laugh me out of the room for being over-the-top cartoony.  It defies all sense of logic, morality and common sense that this thug was still the interim president even after he lied about bribing Rachael Denhollander to another survivor, but... common sense and me aren't exactly on speaking terms these days.

Also, while she doesn't strike me as a petty person, Denhollander is pretty damn good at (completely justified) verbal knife-twisting:

Engler is so used to focusing on money and power, bullying and manipulating, he can't conceive that I would do what I've done because it's RIGHT, not because I'm getting something from it. I truly pity him. What a sad way to live.

LSAClassOf2000

June 15th, 2018 at 11:16 AM ^

For a moment, I thought about combining this with the petition thread below, then it dawned on me how fucking hard that would be to do with the site as it is right now.

Anyway, it's nice to see the calls for his resignation / canning getting stronger, but they only mean so much coming from the same people that chose to keep this in the family in the first place. He really needs to take him and his jowls and leave at this point. Unbelievable. 

BlueChip27

June 15th, 2018 at 11:44 AM ^

It shouldn't stop with Engler.....the whole BOT needs to go. Ferguson is a microcosm of the problem. Yes, I know there are probably some upstanding folks on that board but their silence is appalling. Blow the whole thing up.

ToledoWolverine

June 15th, 2018 at 12:48 PM ^

The most Michigan State thing about all of this, is that if it were happening at say, Texas or Florida or Ohio State or Michigan, it would be front page news every day. People just don’t give a fuck about Michigan State. The place could explode in a fireball and nobody would care. This shit show dwarfs the Penn State debacle and Al Pacino starred in the HBO movie. I imagine the MSU movie will be on lifetime or axis starring Michael Lerner as Engler. 

MClass87

June 15th, 2018 at 12:56 PM ^

I have a friend who played football at State and went on to get his MBA at Northwestern.  He used to have MSU logo's all over his golf bag and car.  He also used to donate tens of thousands of dollars to the university.  I played golf with him the other day and noticed that he took his logo-free bag out of his car that is now adorned with Northwestern decals instead of MSU.  I asked him if he was still donating to MSU and his reply was to look down, spit and say "Fuck No"!  I just don't think that Englers gets it.  They need to acknowledge all of the issues throughout all of their athletic programs, admit to the mistakes, clean house and start over.  This means getting rid of Izzo and Dantonio for covering up and not investigating crimes committed over the last several years.  I just can't understand why any self-respecting parent would allow their son or daughter to commit to that so-called university of higher learning!

reshp1

June 15th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^

Wall Street needs to downgrade their credit rating again. Nothing else is going to get these fuckers' attention. They'll just keep doubling down on stupid hoping for things to blow over.

mgowill

June 15th, 2018 at 1:15 PM ^

If he truly is digging in while simultaneously praising himself, then I really am astonished.  There were "reasons" Engler was chosen, most of which had to do with keeping the status quo in tact.  There was an article in the Lansing State Journal on June 14th.  In the article they talked extensively about how he came to be selected as interim president.

 

"I am appalled that the Board would consider John Engler as a temporary leader for our university. I hope that you will choose someone more suited to lead us compassionately through these challenging times," an email to trustees from an alumnus whose name MSU redacted before releasing the records.

Peter Secchia, a prominent MSU donor and former ambassador to Italy, mentioned his recommendation for interim president in an email to Head Football Coach Mark Dantonio, which Secchia also copied to Beekman.

"What about John Engler as Interim President," Secchia wrote. "He's certainly strong enough."

 

 

I guess I shouldn't be shocked that the reason he was hired was pretty much because he's "strong enough."  They weren't looking for a path to fixing their problems, they were looking for an asshole large enough to keep them in place.

WolveJD

June 15th, 2018 at 1:47 PM ^

Jeebus...what a shyt-show.

 

You know who would be a good pick to replace this idiot?  Assuming you could ever offer her enough money to come out of retirement and deal with this cluster, even for one year?

 

Mary Sue Coleman.  

SFBlue

June 15th, 2018 at 2:00 PM ^

Sparty needs to bring in an outsider and perform a national search. It can even be someone like Gores. Sparty is stuck in a negative feedback loop and needs to get out of it. 

yossarians tree

June 15th, 2018 at 2:21 PM ^

There's literally no oversight. It's a closed loop of Sparty glad-hander buffoonery. They cannot police themselves, quite clearly. Does the Governor or legislature have ultimate authority over the entire university? Because the only way a proper course can be set is to have an outsider brought in by somebody with no connection to the school. 

I still maintain that at the bottom of the collective Sparty unconscious is an insecure child trembling and sucking his thumb in a dark closet at the thought of losing their beloved Mork and Ewok. They are the most powerful people in the university and this entire dysfunctional culture grew up around them to protect them and preserve this Golden Era they've been on.

Mr Miggle

June 15th, 2018 at 3:06 PM ^

Hiring an outsider is a part of what MSU needs to do. Why would I take that job if I was a qualified candidate? That's the answer they need to figure out first. 

My first step would be limit the search to outside candidates. Second would be a commitment to replacing all administrators that are MSU grads. Third would be a commitment to hiring no more of their grads to teaching positions. Do those things and then they should be able to do a national search and hire a a highly qualified president.   

Otherwise, who wants to work for a clown show board at a troubled and unusually inbred institution? They'd be like the outsider in a family business. 

bronxblue

June 15th, 2018 at 2:54 PM ^

I mean, good they are calling for his firing now.  But at no point did this asshole make a lick of sense trying to handle this situation.  So I'm a little dubious that any of these people care all that much about the victims and are instead past the point of a number of lawsuits and figure he's soaked up all the shitty PR he could.

As always, MSU should be burned to the ground and started over with a new board and administration; glomming onto Engler when they most needed to clean up their culture showed me how little they cared about actually making changes.

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

June 15th, 2018 at 10:15 PM ^

Sorry for being way behind the news cycle today ... but this shitshow just wont end as long as their admin has people devoted to a quick solution rather than leadership committed to resolution. Engler is a buffoon and the BoT are worse.

MSU alum should be enraged by this point, but sadly no.  I cannot imagine the outrage and embarrassment for every UM alum with one of these incidents, let alone weekly stupidity.