Michigan State works with Mark Dantonio while promoting pivot from ‘MSU

• Dan Murphy, ESPN Personnel WriterSep 13, 2023, 09:20 PM ET

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  • Covers the Big Ten
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2014
  • Graduate of the University of Notre Dame

Mark Dantonio returned to Michigan State’s school this week as a main member of the coaching staff for the first time given that his abrupt retirement in February 2020, stepping in to help the personnel after the school suspended head coach Mel Tucker amid a sexual harassment investigation.At a press conference Sunday announcing Tucker’s suspension and the transfer to revive Dantonio, Michigan State interim president Teresa Woodruff looked for to draw a difference in between how the “MSU of today “was dealing with the investigation, versus how the “MSU of old”reacted to other high-profile allegations of sexual misconduct.Editor’s Picks 2 Related However Dantonio, who coached Michigan State through among the most

effective eras in program history on the field, also commanded the group throughout the” MSU of old,”a time when the athletic department was accused of mishandling sexual misconduct grievances. He has himself been implicated of interfering in a minimum of one case and repeatedly refused to address questions about his role in bringing highly promoted recruit Auston Robertson to campus in spite of the player’s history of supposed sexual misconduct.Woodruff did not take any questions Sunday, however when ESPN asked this week whether she had any concerns about the coach’s return, a university spokesperson stated the president”fully supports [athletic director Alan] Haller’s decision to bring Dantonio back to the training staff.””Mark Dantonio is a guy of stability,”Haller informed ESPN in a separate declaration on Wednesday. “Since his retirement, he’s continued to be an existence and a unifying force in the MSU neighborhood. When I called him, he selflessly offered to do whatever he might to assist the football program.”Dantonio did not react to a phone call Wednesday looking for comment.Haller stated Sunday that Dantonio, who coached Michigan State from 2007 through 2019, is an extraordinary football coach and would be a”tremendous asset”for interim head coach Harlon Barnett.

Barnett worked as an assistant under Dantonio and stated Tuesday he anticipated his old employer will be a” soothing existence “who will aid with” all elements of the operation”as the team looks for its bearings.”I’m happy he’s here. I enjoy me some Coach D,”Barnett said Tuesday.”That’s my person. “Dantonio’s record at Michigan State included 3 Big Ten championships and peaked with a journey to the College Football

Playoff in 2015. His teams went 27-24 in his last four seasons as head coach.Also throughout Dantonio’s 13-year

tenure, a minimum of 16 Michigan State football players were accused of sexual assault or violence against women, according to interview and public records acquired by ESPN and released in a 2018 report.

A former university counselor stated that in at least one instance Dantonio straight intervened in a case in a way that she believed was inappropriate.Dantonio declined to be spoken with for the 2018 story, however later on stated the concept that his program had actually mishandled any claims of abuse was”totally incorrect.”Dantonio retired following the 2019 football season in early February 2020, an unorthodox time in the football calendar for a coach to leave a program

. His departure came weeks after he collected a$4.3 million longevity bonus offer and hours after previous team member Curtis Blackwell declared in a federal lawsuit that Dantonio had dedicated NCAA recruiting infractions. Blackwell likewise said as part of the exact same legal claims that Dantonio neglected warnings from his fellow coaches about a recruit who became founded guilty of sexually assaulting a fellow Michigan State student.Dantonio said in 2020 that the claim had”zero”effect on his choice to retire. Blackwell filed two federal claims and another in state court, all 3 were dismissed.Blackwell declared in his lawsuit that he was made a scapegoat by Dantonio and others at Michigan State during a 2017 examination into how the football program and athletic department handled 2 sexual attack cases including four different football players. The investigation, conducted by the Jones Day law firm, cleared Dantonio of any wrongdoing and discovered that Blackwell did not properly report what he knew about one of the supposed sexual assaults to authorities or Title IX investigators.In one of those cases, 3 freshmen– Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance– pleaded guilty to a charge of seduction after they were accused of sexually assaulting a lady at a celebration. The seduction charge is based upon an antiquated law that enabled the players to plead guilty to a criminal activity without addressing whether the female granted sex. The woman’s moms and dads informed the judge they were dissatisfied that the professional athletes were able to strike a plea offer that did not, in their viewpoint, effectively discourage comparable crimes from taking place in the future.”This case represents whatever that is wrong at Michigan State University, specifically in the athletic department, “her moms and dads said.Robertson, a schoolmate of those players, pleaded guilty in 2018 to assault with intent to commit criminal sexual penetration after he was implicated of raping a teammate’s sweetheart. Dantonio kicked him off the football group in 2017 after he was at first charged with the crime. King, Corley and Vance were likewise begun the team.Robertson, a defensive end, received a scholarship despite a long list of past allegations of sexual criminal offenses while he remained in high school. Dantonio said the school vetted Robertson thoroughly and “took a risk” by inviting him to school

.”We have actually never intentionally brought a man in here and stated,’ Hey, that man’s going to be a bad person,’ “Dantonio stated after dismissing Robertson.Two years later on, Blackwell– who assisted coordinate Michigan State’s recruiting efforts– stated in a claim that multiple assistant coaches alerted Dantonio that they were uncomfortable with bringing

Robertson to school. To date, Dantonio has actually never answered questions about the details of Robertson’s vetting procedure or Blackwell’s claim.