Izzo "I have the utmost faith and respect" (for Simon)
MSU's Izzo has 'utmost faith, respect' for Simon. Story from @mattcharboneau https://t.co/ABFHjMsfB9 pic.twitter.com/5NRCW7VsIE
— Detroit News Sports (@detnews_sports) January 20, 2018
January 19th, 2018 at 11:55 PM ^
MSU's Izzo has 'utmost faith, respect' for Simon. Story from @mattcharboneau https://t.co/ABFHjMsfB9 pic.twitter.com/5NRCW7VsIE
— Detroit News Sports (@detnews_sports) January 20, 2018
“I hope that the right person was convicted and I have to say, though, that I have the utmost — the utmost faith and respect — for the leadership of our president, too, at Michigan State. It’s a woman who dedicated over 40 years and I’ve been here 33 with her and I think I know what she stands for. So, I hope and pray that those survivors continue to grow in their life, I hope we do everything we can to make sure that this will never happen ever again, not only at this institution but any institution, to be honest with you. But it’s been a lot of sad days for me in a lot of ways and I’m gonna try to do everything I can to help the survivors and help us grow from this and learn from it and move forward.”
January 20th, 2018 at 9:08 AM ^
The fact that she has worked there that long says she needs to go. 40 years?
January 20th, 2018 at 4:26 PM ^
I have no idea what he means by "the right person" convicted. Nassar admitted to it. There isn't some shadowy figure on a grassy knoll systematically assaulting girls for 20 years.
I used to respect Izzo as a clean coach and a decent person, but the more I see and hear him (and the rumors of how dirty he is with recruiting), the more I find him to just be a feckless child.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:00 AM ^
The man works for her. Of course he has to support her.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:04 AM ^
He could have some moral courage.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:06 AM ^
This is true but its Tom Izzo we're talking about
January 20th, 2018 at 11:03 AM ^
If he stood up to her if he's Mighty Tom Izzo. His job status would never be in question
January 20th, 2018 at 2:35 PM ^
eye contact.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:41 AM ^
and that is very unfortunate
January 20th, 2018 at 12:15 AM ^
Like any coach at a major program, Izzo knows how to spin. That he chose not to makes him, and their athletic department look pretty tone deaf.
January 20th, 2018 at 4:35 PM ^
I see it as simple payback.
I'm sure she has supported him or looked the other way when an issue came up with him. Not accusing him of anything really serious, but there must've been issues that came up where she could've made his life more difficult, but she looked the other way or supported.
January 20th, 2018 at 9:39 AM ^
Izzo kept Payne around for years after he ALLEGEDEDLY raped a girl.
January 20th, 2018 at 11:29 AM ^
But think of all the good he did befriending the little girl with cancer. That was in no way, shape, or form a PR move on his behalf. It was totally altruistic.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
My cousin was one of those "little girls with cancer" years ago and the MSU football and basketball teams did wonders for keeping her spirits up through chemotherapy.
The amount of dedication both the players and coaches showed to supporting her through her treatment and recovery was incredible and went far beyond some PR stunt. Coach Mannie (MSU football's S&C coach) even helped her with physical therapy for her recovery at the MSU facilities completely free of cost after she was clear of disease.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
It’s possible for MSU to cover up a rape and still be beneficial in helping young cancer patients.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:26 PM ^
It's awesome that MSU helped your cousin and others. We as a society do need more of this. So that's a good thing for MSU's staff who are involved in that way.
It does not however absolve the instiution's leadership of responsibility for taking care and protecting their young people. While it could happen anywere, sadly, it happened at State. They need to own the responsibilities that were neglected and the trust that was broken.
Izzo has an opportunity like other adults before him to stand up and say something. He choses to defend Simon. Sometimes loyalty is misguided.
We are talking about a serious travesty with the whole Larry Nassar affair. I get it that you are responding to a particular poster and kudos for standing up for what you think is right even, but the big picture of the Nassar affair is appalling and almost beyond belief. We are talking over 20 years of complicity and coverup. Pedophilia is a horrific thing and adults in charge had opportunities along the way to do something about it. It's not a question of whether or not Nassar was guilty. He was and has confessed as much.
The nagging thing to me is how did he get away with it for so long?
January 20th, 2018 at 12:47 PM ^
I'm sorry your family was hit with cancer and I'm tremendously glad for the support she received. You'll note that my comment was solely focused on Payne (if you can just take an objective step back). You'll have to excuse me, as a pediatric oncologist who has dedicated his life to caring for kids with cancer and for trying to find a cure, I'm fairly sensitive toward situations like his that very much do come across as a PR stunt. I didn't see coach mannie being paraded in front of the media as a saint following allusions he participated in rape. The dude was doing a great deed for the right reasons, as were the other folks you similarly encountered.
January 20th, 2018 at 4:29 PM ^
That's great your cousin had a positive experience with MSU athletes. i can't imagine how painful cancer treatment is and how it helped having support from members of the team.
But the teams also have a checkered history with sexual assaults and the school allowed an employee to sexually assaulted hundreds of girls. We live in a world where both of those realities can exist.
January 20th, 2018 at 4:45 PM ^
Think before you speak. Don’t use this shit as rivalry fodder.
January 20th, 2018 at 7:33 PM ^
Man, I get that you created this account in order to act as the rivalry police. The only thing you ever post is about how Michigan sucks and fans should be nice to other teams. In some instances, that might even be applicable. Perhaps you could enlighten me as to how I used "this shit as rivalry fodder". Their whole situation is so far beyond being about a rivalry, if you interpret it that way, that probably says more about your perspective than it does anything else. I don't think pointing out that a team/ coach with a checkered history related to sexual assault may have taken manipulative steps to improve a players image constitutes "rivalry fodder".
January 22nd, 2018 at 8:48 AM ^
I created this account because I was tired of reading Rivals and Chris Balas ego-stroking our fans. That’s all . Can’t we just appreciate what Payne did for her? Why the need to take a pot-shot?
January 20th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
Izzo and Dantonio are two of the most powerful people at that university. They easily could have called for her resignation and faced no blowback. The fanbase would go insane if they fired them over calling out the president. Instead they voiced their support for her.
And isn’t people in power not being willing to call out other people in power how we got to rampant sexual harassment and assault across a lot of industries?
January 20th, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
(Payne and Appling) so are they really going to throw her under the bus? She has served them well.
January 20th, 2018 at 11:44 AM ^
Maybe. But I’m specially responding to the “she’s their boss, they’re not going to speak out against her” argument.
And even if she did help them cover stuff up, I doubt she wants that to get out and further her own demise. If she admits to that, she definitely loses her job.
January 20th, 2018 at 10:04 AM ^
and shouldn't need to fear giving a vote of non-support
January 20th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^
i thought the president worked for the coaches? oh, that's osu.
January 20th, 2018 at 3:12 PM ^
Oh please. Don't act like Tom Izzo has to bow down to anyone at MSU.
Tom Izzo could more easily get Lou Anna Simon fired than the other way around. She couldn't fire him if she wanted to.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:02 AM ^
So glad we beat them.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:03 AM ^
Dantonio managed to say literally nothing and referred to himself in the third person:
""Well, obviously our hearts go out to the victims in this case. It’s a very, very difficult situation for them. It’s awful. I guess with that said, in 11 years of dealing with President Simon on so many different occasions and in so many different areas, I’ve always found her to be very reflective, very calm in the storm, very on-point. And I’ve always appreciated that about her. She’s much like a head coach. In my little world that I’m in – and I can’t control things at times – I would say she is in a very difficult and delicate situation. I really don’t think that I’m even qualified to talk on it, but I can only speak to my involvement with her and how she’s handled very difficult situations. I think she’s led from that perspective with Mark Dantonio and our football team."
January 20th, 2018 at 12:08 AM ^
Sounds like he's just rambling while trying to think of how to motivate his players for the game next year
January 20th, 2018 at 12:13 AM ^
I have heard a lot of public figures speak and this is classic "I do not want to talk about this thing but I want to sound like I am talking about this thing."
January 20th, 2018 at 2:49 PM ^
Translation; “You can’t blame me”.
He really sounds like an ass quite often.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:25 AM ^
Who is this "Mark Dantonio" that Mike D'antoni is talking about? It's really bad that they are relying on their 2 popular coaches (to their fans) to prop up her presidency. Sports is so minor compared to what is going on.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:32 AM ^
MD is smarter than Izzo
January 20th, 2018 at 8:10 AM ^
he's less complicit in covering up rapes than Izzo
January 20th, 2018 at 1:41 AM ^
qualified to talk on it...then don't. Just give your sympathy and support to the victims and end the statement.
January 20th, 2018 at 4:06 AM ^
When Dantonio says "but I can only speak to my involvement with her and how she’s handled very difficult situations. I think she’s led from that perspective with Mark Dantonio and our football team" is he saying that she's the queen of Red Locking? Is it just the homer in me that can't interpret that any other way than that she's advised him, when he "can't control things at times", to protect the program first, to hell with the victims, and be sure to line up a fall guy? It's interesting (read: horrifying) the similarities between Simon's "leadership" with regards to Nassar and Dantonio's leadership regarding the multiple sexual assaults by his players.
Also, where the hell is Hollis hiding that he wouldn't be accountable, or at the very least srutinized, for Klages' actions? It's mind boggling that the board can so quickly, based on an internal review that didn't even generate a report, that Nassar was the only person who committed a crime and who needed to be relieved of their duties.
January 20th, 2018 at 5:13 AM ^
"I would say she is in a very difficult and delicate situation."
Uh, Tom? Turn on the news. You'll see a group of young women in a court room who can tell you what a "difficult and delicate situation" really is.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:16 AM ^
The quantity of MSU administrators/leaders who constitutively exhibited a deficit of braining has been astounding
January 20th, 2018 at 4:35 PM ^
Somebody mentioned this in another thread, but you can sort of tell these people have little experience dealing with a situation where they can't control the media narrative and the spotlight is pretty dim.
They legitimately seem surprised that people keep bringing up how Larry Nassar was allowed to stay there despite numerous complaints. And you think back and remember how even the summer of 2017, with all those issues, the local and national coverage was pretty muted. Michigan dealt with more scrutiny because of Shane Morris playing with a concussion. So it's no surprise that they have no idea how to not sound like callous idiots because they really haven't ever been put to task.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:07 AM ^
Hollis needs to resign too.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:09 AM ^
While we're at it, can Dantonio resign too?
January 20th, 2018 at 12:16 AM ^
A certain somebody pays him large amounts of cash to say that kinda thing.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:19 AM ^
While Izzo is probably untouchable, this circling the wagons around Simon isn’t going to work out well for MSU’s overall reputation.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:20 AM ^
Says “to be honest with you” quite a bit.
January 20th, 2018 at 7:18 AM ^
I can tell you that that statement typically precedes a lie.
January 20th, 2018 at 2:21 PM ^
some people just say that. It is almost a form of vocal tic.
January 20th, 2018 at 12:31 AM ^
Hope he took a long shower after this...when she's terminated he will regret this statement
January 20th, 2018 at 12:35 AM ^
so much transparently trying to shine up that turd....
January 20th, 2018 at 12:48 AM ^
The number of posts on this topic is getting a little out of hand. Most of you seem to be basking in this scandal because it’s MSU. There is very little evidence that Simon did anything improper, yet everyone is demanding her head, because they want to see a bloodbath regardless of whether she is actually culpable.