John Engler says student safety at Michigan State is priority over winning games (ESPN)

Submitted by GoBlueinEugene on
When asked if he was worried about a culture that prioritizes winning over other issues, Engler criticized media coverage and said he was concerned about any woman who says she was assaulted, but not about how the school's high-profile sports have handled those accusations in the past.
 
"I think in Dantonio and Izzo you've got two coaches with great personal integrity who run very clean programs," Engler said. "That is not to say that everybody in those programs has always comported with what's expected of them."

 

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HailHail47

May 10th, 2018 at 1:21 PM ^

Then they should stop recruiting rapists. Recruit young men of character and a lot of these incidents don’t happen. Izzo and Dantonio just don’t look at character when recruiting like Beilein and Harbaugh.

True Blue Grit

May 10th, 2018 at 3:14 PM ^

It keeps happening because Wizzo and Mork aren't placing enough of an emphasis on character when vetting possible recruits.  Then, after they get to MSU and commit a crime, the system of victim-blaming, non-accountability, and looking the other way takes things from there.  

NittanyFan

May 10th, 2018 at 1:30 PM ^

Engler has denied ESPN's interview request and declined to answer any questions from ESPN at Thursday's breakfast event.

Denying their interview request seems fine --- but just answer their questions, with the same boilerplate answers you're giving everybody else.  

I guess that's a continuation of Engler's strategy of "ESPN is MSU's enemy."

maize-blue

May 10th, 2018 at 2:20 PM ^

Mork, Izzy, and Engler can take their "great personal integrity" and shove it up their A$%.

Gr1mlock

May 10th, 2018 at 2:37 PM ^

So he's concerned about women who've been assualted, but not concerned about numerous reports and history of revenue sports players assaulting women and being allowed to continue to play?  Yes, this seems like an internally consistent opinion.  

ST3

May 10th, 2018 at 3:10 PM ^

Their football team followed Miami's (YTM) blueprint from the 80's. Integrity doesn't matter. Success on the field justifies their methods. Only in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't. Their day of reckoning is coming. In basketball, Izzo has blended a poor man's coach K image with taking some questionable character kids a la Tarkanian. Their approaches have been successful in wins and losses, but I have no respect for either. I do respect Jud Heathcote and a few other Spartans. This is not about the rivalry for me.

BlueTimesTwo

May 10th, 2018 at 3:23 PM ^

Maybe he just meant that they treat ALL sexual assault victims poorly, just in case of the (likely) event that an MSU athlete was involved. So it isn’t really special treatment for football and basketball. It is the UNC defense, applied to sexual assaults, which is despicable.