(MPRN-East Lansing) Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon has yielded to demands that she step down over MSU’s handling of the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. Many of Larry Nassar’s victims were among those calling on Simon to quit.
Victims say MSU officials ignored their complaints about Nassar over the past 20 years, Simon has been MSU’s president since 2004. They blame a culture at MSU that allowed the abuse to happen.
In a statement posted on MSU’s website, Simon defended the university’s handling of the situation and predicted she and the school would be vindicated when all the facts are known. But, she said, the Nassar scandal created a “politicized” environment and people focused their anger on her.
MSU still faces inquiries by the state attorney general and the NCAA, as well as more than a hundred lawsuits filed by former athletes.