Mark Dantonio (Screenshot from Detroit News video)
Are the sexual assault allegations involving three Michigan State University football players just the latest sign of a leadership void?
That may be the case, suggests Detroit News columnist Bob Wojnowski :
There has been a shocking spate of indiscretions in Dantonio’s program the past year, and while they’re not technically linked, they appear to indicate a startling leadership void. That will be the story outside the story, as a sturdy program and a successful coach must deal with its own accountability.
Dantonio and athletic director Mark Hollis received the full support of the school’s Board of Trustees Monday, and school president Lou Anna Simon extolled their handling of the case based on the results of an independent report. Dantonio and his staff followed all university protocol in the aftermath of the alleged crime on Jan. 16, and in fact, Simon was quick to note, “It was above reproach.”
That was good to hear, a sign the Spartans’ problems aren’t necessarily systemic. But it’s not exactly a high bar to jump over right now. On the day before three players are charged with sexual assault, the school readily offers a positive exoneration of the coach and his staff, cleared of wrongdoing? Well, except that Blackwell and the players refused to be interviewed by investigators, and Blackwell was determined to have violated policy.
