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On Friday, the trustees of Michigan State University decided to provide the state attorney general with documents regarding the university’s inquiries into Larry Nassar, a former sports doctor currently in prison.
The trustees of the East Lansing school unanimously decided to release the documents after they are reviewed by the school’s general counsel.
The school claimed that the documents are safeguarded by the privilege of attorney-client communication, and therefore, certain personal and sensitive information will be censored.
The board’s decision includes a requirement for Michigan State to create and execute a strategy to assist individuals who may face distress upon the release of the documents.
In July, a group of women who were victims of sexual assault by Nassar filed a lawsuit against Michigan State University and the board of trustees. They claimed that the university officials made undisclosed decisions regarding the release of documents related to the case.
The attorney general’s office was denied access to over 6,000 documents by the school regarding their investigation into Nassar’s actions. Additionally, the school failed to provide emails related to the board of trustees’ decision-making.
In 2018, Nassar received a prison sentence of 40 to 175 years for confessing to sexually abusing numerous elite gymnasts over a span of several years, claiming it was for medical purposes. He faced allegations of assaulting hundreds of females.
The way Michigan State has handled the Nassar investigation and its interactions with survivors after his arrest and conviction has been met with criticism. The university has reached a settlement of $500 million in lawsuits brought by Nassar’s victims.
After Friday’s vote, Attorney General Dana Nessel stated that her office will carefully examine the documents and promptly resume and accelerate its investigation once they are obtained.
Nessel stated that the students, MSU community, and especially the victims of Larry Nassar have been waiting for this level of openness for a long time. She is pleased that the MSU Board of Trustees has finally fulfilled their promise and taken action to increase transparency.
Nessel previously had asked the school to release the documents to help shine a light on what the school knew about Nassar’s abuse. She ended her investigation of the school’s handling of the Nassar case in 2021 because the university refused to provide documents related to the scandal.
Before Friday’s vote, Amanda Cormier, a victim of Nassar, expressed her gratitude that the board is finally considering releasing the documents.
Cormier expressed their belief that the culture of MSU cannot improve until the documents are made public and more information is revealed about the environment that enabled this to happen to numerous individuals.
The independent.co.uk website is the source of this information.
This information can be found on the independent.co.uk website.
