Blackwell suing Dantonio and MSU officials
He claims that he was wrongfully terminated and arrested. Some pegged him as covering up Spartan football player's crimes. He claims otherwise.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:59 PM ^
This should go well.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:01 PM ^
It wasn't too long ago that OUR program was the one that was a tire fire both on and off the field. It sure feels nice when the situation is flipped to your rivals.
November 13th, 2018 at 2:04 PM ^
I don't think Rutger has any off-field issues. I'll give you Maryland, though.
November 13th, 2018 at 2:08 PM ^
Depends upon what you think about being convicted on charges of attempted double-murder...
November 13th, 2018 at 2:14 PM ^
Credit card fraud and attempted double murder in past year at Rutgers.
November 13th, 2018 at 7:44 PM ^
Felonies committed > football wins = Criminal Rutger
November 13th, 2018 at 11:18 PM ^
That's all?
November 13th, 2018 at 2:44 PM ^
Only their former men’s basketball coach, their former football coach, and their former athletic director. All fired for cause. And a football player arrested for murder.
November 13th, 2018 at 5:02 PM ^
Well then, at least Illinois is clean!
November 13th, 2018 at 10:21 PM ^
With the attempted murder(s), I think Rutgers has sewn up this year's Fulmer Cup.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:02 PM ^
Blackwell files a suit
MSU will deny all
sad state of affairs
Isn't this the Haiku?
November 13th, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^
Wouldn't Ohio be the sad state of affairs?
November 13th, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
Hook 'em.
November 13th, 2018 at 2:13 PM ^
Ok cool.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:06 PM ^
ba dum tsssh
November 13th, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
This puts some of us in the awkward position of defending MSU, Hollis and Dantonio. IIRC, Blackwell was wise to the Corley, King and Vance allegations and did not report upstream as required. If that's true, it seems like MSU (for once) did the right thing.
I feel dirty defending Dantonio and Hollis. Off for a bath in some Purell!
November 13th, 2018 at 1:06 PM ^
That's the story they're telling us. But if he is the fall guy, whoa...
November 13th, 2018 at 1:36 PM ^
I think this is the most relevant point.
Howeva, article states the suit is for $150k. So if MSU feels like any dirt on them could be uncovered during a trial, it seems likely they would pursue a (relatively) low-cost settlement to keep it swept under the rug.
November 13th, 2018 at 2:13 PM ^
Oh without a doubt. Blackwell is definitely going for the money and that's all. So if he ends up signing a nondisclosure and settles, we should have a pretty good idea of how much dirt he has on MSU.
November 13th, 2018 at 5:05 PM ^
Calling all boosters - we need some cash! One of our former colleagues has fallen on hard times and needs a little cash.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:07 PM ^
It's not dirty if it's true. Separating truth from falsehood and acknowledging when someone, even an actor we consider bad in other cases, is important. If Dantonio and the department acted rightly in this situation, then it helps clarify what was done improperly in other situations.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:09 PM ^
I may not recall all of the details, but my general understanding is that MSU handled this situation correctly from the start. Immediately suspended all parties, did an investigation, fired blackwell, and kicked the 2-3 players off the team.
You can question other aspects prior to the event (who they accept into their program, overall culture), but it seems like their response was by the book.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:11 PM ^
Yeah, based on the article it seems like the guy won't have much of a case.
However, this is an unwelcome mess for a program/athletic department that hasn't had a lot of great news lately. Additionally, Blackwell has lots of ties to Detroit and it doesn't look good to many I bet to be getting sued by him.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
I don't know, as I think he will have a case, as he will tell everyone that the norm was to cover it up and of course he could bring up other prior hidden examples, and that would make staee look very bad.
Don't be too surprised if they settle out of court to buy his silence!!!
November 13th, 2018 at 1:28 PM ^
Maybe this was the story that UMBig11 was referring to?
November 13th, 2018 at 1:51 PM ^
Blackwell may well know of other dark secrets at MSU. This lawsuit may be an attempt to get money in exchange for keeping quiet.
"well, Mr. MSU lawyer, you have to understand that x, y & z will probably come to light during discovery."
November 13th, 2018 at 9:35 PM ^
If he is suiting then I'd bet big money it's because he notified Dantini. Otherwise why the suit? Has to have merit to make a run here. Am I misinterpreting this????
November 13th, 2018 at 1:09 PM ^
"....one of the players' fathers contacted him after hearing about a "wild off-campus party" to ask him if his son or any players were in trouble."
Trouble = littering
November 13th, 2018 at 1:45 PM ^
Corley should have come to Michigan
November 13th, 2018 at 1:10 PM ^
The gift that keeps on giving. Here, Blackwell and MSU deserve each other...it was just a matter of time. The layers to this being peeled back should be very interesting. Dantonio hired him. What a sad tale.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:24 PM ^
And so it begins....Hell hath no furry like a.....were going to start to see specific details emerge now...
November 13th, 2018 at 1:29 PM ^
V4MSU?
lulz
November 13th, 2018 at 1:44 PM ^
U know it, spartan dawgs gon’ eat!
November 13th, 2018 at 1:33 PM ^
I hope practice times were strictly enforced!
/s
November 13th, 2018 at 1:36 PM ^
unless there is a contractual provision otherwise, they could fire him for any reason or no reason. even if there is a 'for cause' requirement to his termination, it seems like his firing was justified. absent some more facts to fill us all in, this appears to be a frivolous law suit, done for vengeance's sake.
November 13th, 2018 at 2:13 PM ^
A lot will depend on the facts (which might not ever be known anyway).
Why did Blackwell not want to cooperate with the investigation? Because of his guilt, or some other reason? Why did that displease Dantonio? It's interesting that this is mentioned in the lawsuit - normally not a strong basis, saying he lost his job because he refused to cooperate with his employer. He was apparently a good recruiter for MSU, in a way I'm surprised they did let him go that easily. Who the heck knows. Anyway if there's a settlement, 150K isn't the cap, since they asked for punitive damages. Could be a bluff or could be some fact(s) MSU wouldn't want a jury to hear.
November 13th, 2018 at 2:22 PM ^
I spoke to a friend of Blackwell's some months ago. He said there was aminosity towards Hollis for the firing, but not Dantonio.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:37 PM ^
Maybe Blackwell and Zach Smith can form a support group and have dueling twitter meltdowns.
That would be epic.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:41 PM ^
Wrongful termination and "letting his contract expire and not renewing it" seem totally different. I'm no lawyer, but seems like he doesn't have a leg to stand on there.
Also, this doesn't exactly paint Blackwell in a good light when his own lawsuit says: "The lawsuit claims Blackwell chose not to speak to investigators from the law firm Jones Day for their investigation into the January sexual assault claim and that his decision "greatly displeased" Dantonio, Simon and Hollis..."
I'm sure this will go well for him.
November 13th, 2018 at 2:04 PM ^
No way in hell should anyone give non-privileged statements about something like this if they were getting proper advice from counsel. Even if he didn't do anything wrong, you don't want to corroborate any other alleged facts by other witnesses. Even seemingly innocuous statements that confirm things like venue and date would be used against him.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:42 PM ^
What a wicked web you weave...
November 13th, 2018 at 1:46 PM ^
Obviously waited to file to see what the outcome of the court proceedings were going to be.
November 13th, 2018 at 1:48 PM ^
There is a lot to digest here. Like many commenters, I felt like MSU did do the right thing regarding this case - at least based on what we were told. But it is also possible that Blackwell has a different story to tell or he could just be upset that he wasn't read his Miranda rights.
If he is telling the truth, it sounds like he was trying to do the right thing in helping his players which is a good thing. But at the same time, that made him lose sight of the victims which was wrong and illegal.
Still, I don't understand why he had to be arrested at that point. That whole situation seems unusual to me. Where they using Blackwell as the fall guy to take the heat off the head coach?
November 13th, 2018 at 1:49 PM ^
Blackwell needs to burn it all down and expose the program for the crooks that they are!
November 13th, 2018 at 1:55 PM ^
Can't keep up on all this MSU/OSU filthy dirt flinging...need a hazmat suit!
November 13th, 2018 at 2:10 PM ^
I remember when Dantonio received many kudos for landing Blackwell, and how he was going to be a force to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail (which he undoubtedly was for a time). My how things have changed.
Something something pride something something fall.....
November 13th, 2018 at 2:56 PM ^
Remember how excited MSU fans were when the program *finally* hired a recruiting coordinator?
November 13th, 2018 at 3:10 PM ^
Nobody comes off as particularly sympathetic from this situation. This does highlight just how terrible MSU's internal investigation really was, as they never seemed to talk to anyone relevant.