John Engler to resign as MSU interim president after survivor 'spotlight' comments

[Julian Englis]

Source: ESPN

Michigan State University interim president John Engler submitted a letter of resignation Wednesday after making comments published last week suggesting some survivors of Larry Nassar's sexual abuse were "enjoying" the "spotlight."

Dianne Byrum, chairwoman of Michigan State's board of trustees, said Engler sent an 11-page letter to the board that stated he would step down effective Jan. 23.

The school's board of trustees scheduled a previously unplanned meeting for Thursday to discuss a "personnel action" after Engler said he thought some survivors of Nassar's abuse were "enjoying" the "spotlight" in an interview with The Detroit News.

"There are a lot of people who are touched by this, survivors who haven't been in the spotlight," Engler said, according to The Detroit News. "In some ways, they have been able to deal with this better than the ones who've been in the spotlight who are still enjoying that moment at times, you know, the awards and recognition. And it's ending. It's almost done."

Read more: http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/25779016/michigan-state-university-interim-president-john-engler-resign-comments

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He should have resigned while governor of Michigan.

[beachbum bob]

1. typical republican mindset, no surprise. Glad to see him gone

[NewJeffCT]

2. Quick - without google

how many of you can remember all the women that came forward to accuse Bill Cosby?

There were a lot, but I doubt many people can name more than a few. If they were doing it for publicity, wouldn't they be writing books, appearing on talk shows on TV and radio, etc?

[DownriverDem]

3. Excellent

He was a crappy governor here in Michigan too.

[marble falls]

4. Very good article. Never thought I'd read ESPN. Engle was singularly unsuited for his ...

position.

[Dorn]

5. 'splain it to me Johny

What kind of person, let alone a politician, let alone an ex-Governer does not know that you never ever blame victims. Full Stop.

By the way Engler was the Reagan of Michigan but without the Alzheimer's -- the stuff he did to the state will take a really long time to fix.

[Princess Turandot]

6. Apparently, at least 5 of the 8 trustees has asked him to resign...

..per his own letter. The Chairperson, Dianne Byrum, had called for him to be fired months ago after this little gem, but only one other trustee agreed at the time. Two of the current eight trustees came on board only this month.

Engler...accused [Rachael] Denhollander of receiving financial kickbacks from civil attorneys for her outspoken stance against the university in an email exchange he had with other high-ranking university employees. Engler later apologized for those emails.

Denhollander was the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar of wrongdoing, filing a police report in 8/2016, then going to the Indianapolis Star with her story. That led to their extensive reporting on both Nassar and the USAG's gross mishandling of complaints/inquiries received about various individuals associated with the sport.

BTW, his 11 page (11!) letter included 9+ pages outlining his successes during his tenure. What it didn't include was a reference to his 'spotlight' remarks.

[LiberalFighter]

7. He should be fired. Period!