A new call for MSU's president to step aside confirms that fallout from sex offender Larry Nassar isn't easing.
Rep. Tom Leonard sees "gross negligence" or a cover-up of MSU's role in handling 125 athletes' complaints about sex offender Larry Nassar.
Two Detroit News reporters present the latest development:
Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon should resign because the university has failed young women who were sexual assaulted by former gymnastics Dr. Larry Nassar, state House Speaker Tom Leonard said Monday.
The DeWitt Republican is the highest-ranking state official to call for Simon to step down in the wake of the Nassar scandal. He's joining calls for an independent probe of MSU after internal investigators cleared university officials of wrongdoing but did not produce a report of their findings.
"The best-case scenario for Michigan State University is that there was absolutely gross negligence all the way to the top. And worst-case scenario, something's being covered up," Leonard told The Detroit News.
His comments come eight days after the Lansing State Journal newspaper urged her departure in a front-page editorial.
Nassar pleaded guilty in two coiunty courts to 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. At sentencing next month, judges will hear from victims of the former MSU and USA Gymnastics doctor.
Rep. Leonard, a former assistant prosecutor for Genesee County, voices strong surprise -- verging on disbelief -- that MSU investigators say no report compiles their findings:
“Not once was there ever a situation where we had an investigation and a report wasn’t produced,” Leonard said. “There were often times that a report didn’t produce charges, but there was always a report."
The House speaker's stance has a political context, Jonathan Oosting and Kim Kozlowski of The News point out:
Leonard is seeking the Republican nomination for state attorney general in 2018. His top GOP rival for the post, state Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, was among a group of senators who met with Nassar victims last week in Lansing.
Pat Miles, a former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor, seeks the attorney general nomination as a Democrat and calls for an outside inquiry into MSU's handling of 125 athletes' complaints about Nassar.
-- Alan Stamm
