ESPN - Ex-staffer: Dantonio ignored warnings on recruit

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:

DWags wrote:What do you mean by stick.?

There comes a point in today's day and age where social media moral outage reaches critical mass. And at that point there is nothing you can do either than resign. I don't think anyone outside of loser ass Scott Bell and his minions are going to care enough to get to that point over this but you never know.. Like I said if some of us are feeling put off by it.. How will the masses take it??

Dantonio resigning because of this?

I thought from the start of the season he announces his retirement to his team on November 15th. I think I said that somewhere around here.

But this won’t be the cause of this. However Blackwell will take credit for it.

duffy munn wrote:

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:Fair and true. I've just struggled with this one from the jump. Note that I haven't drawn any hard and fast conclusions on it. Then or now. We don't know what we don't know. But I think this one might have some sticking to it.

here's what I know. Blackwell went directly to an alleged victim of sexual assault to try to make it go away before he let Coach D know about it. Again, his credibility is zero. Amazed he wasn't charged. Coach D's biggest mistake was hiring this piece of shit.

So a Michael Cohen type scenario?

Duffy that's fine. And may well be true. But you're missing the point here. This really has nothing to do with CB. This has to do with stuff we have known for a long time

AR had issues. We brought him on anyway. He raped someone.

This is known.

kingstonlake wrote:

MiamiSpartan wrote:
Wouldn't any deposition be under oath? Do you think the coaches are so loyal that they'll commit a felony for MD?

I wasn’t under the impression we were talking under oath. Not sure if there’s something going on where they’re going to have to testify. I assumed we were talking in a reporter type setting.

The article in the OP was from Blackwell's deposition (I think where he's suing MSU for wrongful termination, but am not 100% sure what the case is as I haven't been following it, so someone else can clarify).

MiamiSpartan wrote:

kingstonlake wrote:

I wasn’t under the impression we were talking under oath. Not sure if there’s something going on where they’re going to have to testify. I assumed we were talking in a reporter type setting.

The article in the OP was from Blackwell's deposition (I think where he's suing MSU for wrongful termination, but am not 100% sure what the case is as I haven't been following it, so someone else can clarify).

Yes, Blackwell is sueing Dantonio/MSU for wrongful termination. This is his testimony.

This is not really new news. Of course the coaching staff had discussions on whether to take him. I would bet they are deeper than Blackwell presented. I'm sure it wasn't a cut or dry decision for Dantonio. At the end of the day he decided to take the kid on and try to mentor him. That was a mistake. That is on him. Nothing new here. Why MSU decided to let this play out in court where the scab is going to get picked and not reach a settlement is mind bottling. I thought I read before he was seeking $80k.

Before we start signalling the end for Dantonio because of this. CFT is a good place to gauge the GAF level outside (and even inside) our bubble. Stories with a lot of attention stay at the top and have lots of comments.

https://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/

MiamiSpartan wrote:

kingstonlake wrote:

I wasn’t under the impression we were talking under oath. Not sure if there’s something going on where they’re going to have to testify. I assumed we were talking in a reporter type setting.

The article in the OP was from Blackwell's deposition (I think where he's suing MSU for wrongful termination, but am not 100% sure what the case is as I haven't been following it, so someone else can clarify).

I was under the impression Wags wanted to know what MD staff had to say if asked in general not under oath. To the best of my knowledge they haven’t been subpoenaed. I was more or less saying we know what they’d say. But yes, under oath would shed some light.

This effects our program zero. From who we will recruit (we lost CB’sgroup when he was arrested-we still have Crowell’s influences) to who will be at games.

People will not stay home from games because of this. It will be winning and losing that dictates that.
People won’t choose MSU as a college or not choose it as a college because of this.
This will have zero influence on Dantonios tenure here.

It is a story of a scum bag that is suing MSU, wrongfully, and the university is putting its foot down regardless of the amount. He’s currently stealing from a metro school district. Hiring “consulting firms” who help run the district as asst superintendents because their friends lack credentials to run a district. (Lack of degrees) he’s a scum bag. The worst kind. And he still regrets AR turning his three kids into Dantonio.

Sorry if I’m passionate about this Turtle. I know this guy and I know who he surrounds himself with. I’m hoping MSU doesn’t settle with him. For 80k or 80 dollars.

NigelUno wrote:

DWags wrote:This effects our program zero. From who we will recruit (we lost CB’sgroup when he was arrested-we still have Crowell’s influences) to who will be at games.

People will not stay home from games because of this. It will be winning and losing that dictates that.
People won’t choose MSU as a college or not choose it as a college because of this.
This will have zero influence on Dantonios tenure here.

It is a story of a scum bag that is suing MSU, wrongfully, and the university is putting its foot down regardless of the amount. He’s currently stealing from a metro school district. Hiring “consulting firms” who help run the district as asst superintendents because their friends lack credentials to run a district. (Lack of degrees) he’s a scum bag. The worst kind. And he still regrets AR turning his three kids into Dantonio.

Sorry if I’m passionate about this Turtle. I know this guy and I know who he surrounds himself with. I’m hoping MSU doesn’t settle with him. For 80k or 80 dollars.

I'm with you.

And it seems like if we wanted to settle, we would have done it already.

I’ll go further, and this is just a guess, I bet Dantonio and the staff insisted on not settling. (That’s my fantasy).

However, he’s done what he’s wanted to, and it’s worked. Frankly I’m shocked that it’s worked with some of the people who were texting me last night and some of what I’ve been reading online. I know, just walk away. Best practice. I can hear turtle saying I’ve been triggered.

Somebody help me out here, how is not renewing a contract wrongful termination?

Floyd Robertson wrote:Somebody help me out here, how is not renewing a contract wrongful termination?

This has more to do with embarrassing Dantonios and the program than 80k.

Congrats to him. He’s done what he’s wanted to. Especially for his side hustle.

DWags wrote:

Floyd Robertson wrote:Somebody help me out here, how is not renewing a contract wrongful termination?

This has more to do with embarrassing Dantonios and the program than 80k.

Congrats to him. He’s done what he’s wanted to. Especially for his side hustle.

He must be really happy knowing that he'll never again be able to get a legitimate job in football, or maybe anywhere else.

Jake from State Farm wrote:

DWags wrote:

This has more to do with embarrassing Dantonios and the program than 80k.

Congrats to him. He’s done what he’s wanted to. Especially for his side hustle.

He must be really happy knowing that he'll never again be able to get a legitimate job in football, or maybe anywhere else.

He has one. And the Detroit media will help it thrive

POS

DWags wrote:This effects our program zero. From who we will recruit (we lost CB’sgroup when he was arrested-we still have Crowell’s influences) to who will be at games.

People will not stay home from games because of this. It will be winning and losing that dictates that.
People won’t choose MSU as a college or not choose it as a college because of this.
This will have zero influence on Dantonios tenure here.

It is a story of a scum bag that is suing MSU, wrongfully, and the university is putting its foot down regardless of the amount. He’s currently stealing from a metro school district. Hiring “consulting firms” who help run the district as asst superintendents because their friends lack credentials to run a district. (Lack of degrees) he’s a scum bag. The worst kind. And he still regrets AR turning his three kids into Dantonio.

Sorry if I’m passionate about this Turtle. I know this guy and I know who he surrounds himself with. I’m hoping MSU doesn’t settle with him. For 80k or 80 dollars.

Wags - nice rant, and I hope you are right.
This sounds pretty good on a small cloistered board like tSwill.

Just because CB has an axe to grind doesn't necessarily make his statements lies; maybe we find out, maybe we don't.
Settlements tend to keep things quieter, but something tell me that CB didn't want to settle because as you say this isn't about money it's about making his statements in public, and in public testimony in court.

but outside of the Green & White world your rant sounds like Joel "Turd" Ferguson when he said this "Nassar thing" wasn't going to make the board look to replace Lou Anna, because she's done such a great job and the people who know her know it.

I will immediately apologize for the Ferguson reference, nobody really deserves that.

How much longer before we Lavigned again? I recall that she had a story in the works.

These two are out to get our coaches fired, that's all there is to it.

Steve you sound like a fanboy bro

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:Steve you sound like a fanboy bro

I'm just a hater. An ESPN hater. Even with all this fucking 40 year anniversary shit I was like go to hell ESPN. Didn't watch any of it.

duffy munn wrote:

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:Steve you sound like a fanboy bro

Not really. He just doesn't automatically believe every thing bad he hears or reads about MSU. Like some people.

No one in this thread has stated that they believe what CB said.

steveschneider wrote:

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:Steve you sound like a fanboy bro

I'm just a hater. An ESPN hater. Even with all this fucking 40 year anniversary shit I was like go to hell ESPN. Didn't watch any of it.

And that’s fine, but the hate is misguided in this situation as this is Blackwell suing MSU. Not espn grasping for straws. It’s worthy to report and we don’t really know the truth yet.

I get that a lot of our identities are tied to MSU (some way more than others, healthy or not.. see above) but i think it can be good to take a step back and let shit play out a bit before getting all fired up. Especially with how various institutions have been getting exposed lately.

Unless some new revelations come to light this isn't really moving the needle for me.

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:

duffy munn wrote:

Not really. He just doesn't automatically believe every thing bad he hears or reads about MSU. Like some people.

No one in this thread has stated that they believe what CB said.

Very true. But knowing CB, some have pretty much followed his game plan.

Which is fine. I remember that stuff from the 90’s and early 00’s. We are who we thought we were.

NigelUno wrote:

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

And that’s fine, but the hate is misguided in this situation as this is Blackwell suing MSU. Not espn grasping for straws. It’s worthy to report and we don’t really know the truth yet.

I get that a lot of our identities are tied to MSU (some way more than others, healthy or not.. see above) but i think it can be good to take a step back and let shit play out a bit before getting all fired up. Especially with how various institutions have been getting exposed lately.

What does Robertson have to do with the lawsuit?

It's kind of old news...being regurgitated...for some reason.

He has nothing to do with it. But everything to do with CB’s FU to Dantonio.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

steveschneider wrote:

I'm just a hater. An ESPN hater. Even with all this fucking 40 year anniversary shit I was like go to hell ESPN. Didn't watch any of it.

And that’s fine, but the hate is misguided in this situation as this is Blackwell suing MSU. Not espn grasping for straws. It’s worthy to report and we don’t really know the truth yet.

I get that a lot of our identities are tied to MSU (some way more than others, healthy or not.. see above) but i think it can be good to take a step back and let shit play out a bit before getting all fired up. Especially with how various institutions have been getting exposed lately.

Here's my short quick takes on all of this -

I think Dantonio and Izzo are good people

I think Blackwell is full of shit

I think recruiting this kid was a mistake in hind sight, I don't follow recruiting but I don't think anyone said don't take this kid at the time.

I think Lavigne and Murphy have an axe to grind with MSU

Unfortunately across the nation at every big program shit like this happens doesn't make it right but what are we supposed to do? Fire our coaches and get the death penalty from the NCAA? This is what ESPN has called for on air. And then lets say MSU goes down who's next? Ohio State? They had a wrestling coach that was a pervert and football players that have done horrible things to other students. Do we just keep going down the line? Or does it just stop at MSU?

The insiders elsewhere are saying basically that the opposite of what CB is saying is true. That he was the one pressuring Coach to take AR. So yeah I can totally see a scenario similar to what Wags is outlining.

Also if what that one guy posted last night is true about the staff only knowing about the lesser incident in HS and there were actually 2 with one being far more severe (and even Murphy tweeted something about the HS withholding that information), then it certainly helps explain why Coach D would take that risk. I would still feel terrible about it but hard to really blame yourself if you weren't given the full picture when you made your decision.

This is a good read that will give you the full background on AR. I will copy and paste it b/c it's from Murphy. It will make you mad. They are trying very very hard in the article to prove that MSU didn't try hard enough to look into his background before admitting him. But the main takeaway is that MSU only knew about a 'groping' incident which got him kicked out of school and a prior misdemeanor for evading police or some shit. There were a couple of attempted rape accusations that no one told them about.

Former Michigan State defensive lineman Auston Robertson pleaded guilty to a criminal sexual assault charge during a pretrial hearing in a Michigan court Wednesday.

Robertson, a 6-foot-4, 275-pound former four-star recruit from Wayne High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was dismissed from the Michigan State football team in April 2017 after police said the freshman sexually assaulted a fellow student at an off-campus apartment.

On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to criminal sexual assault with intent to commit penetration. An Ingham County judge will sentence Robertson next month and has preliminarily agreed to give him three years in state prison (a 43-month sentence that includes time already served), according to Robertson's attorney.

Robertson was offered a scholarship to join the Spartans in 2016 amid questions about a pattern of troubling behavior in high school. MSU coach Mark Dantonio delayed the offer in the first few months of 2016 while Robertson went through the legal process for a misdemeanor battery charge. In March of that year, Dantonio said the football program had decided to add Robertson to the roster after using "all resources available to us to thoroughly review his situation."

An Outside the Lines review of Robertson's recruitment and background check shows missed opportunities to gain a complete picture of his prior behavior: There is no record of Michigan State officials speaking to law enforcement agencies in Indiana about his past or requesting records from them, despite the university learning that Robertson had been permanently barred from his high school's campus in January 2016; Robertson's high school principal did not inform MSU during its recruitment process of every allegation made against Robertson at the high school; and Robertson himself did not disclose a series of prior run-ins with police and school officials.

EDITOR'S PICKS

Spartans oust DE after sexual assault charge

Ex-MSU DE arrested again, has bond revoked
Robertson was a coveted recruit in 2016, earning scholarship offers from more than a dozen programs, including Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Miami and Penn State. Four members of Michigan State's celebrated 2016 class of freshmen, including Robertson, have been dismissed from the team and the university following accusations of sexual misconduct.

After Dantonio dismissed Robertson from the Spartans last year, he said, "We've never intentionally brought a guy in here and said, 'Hey, that guy's going to be a bad guy.' Obviously, we took a risk, as we said earlier. We vetted the young man."

A spokesman for the football program declined a recent request to interview anyone from Michigan State who was involved in vetting Robertson. Dantonio did not respond to multiple attempts to learn more details about what resources his program used before deciding to bring Robertson to East Lansing.

Michigan State officials have said the university was aware of two criminal charges in Robertson's past. One was sexual in nature, and the other was not. He was charged in January 2016 with misdemeanor battery related to an incident during school in which he "rubbed and grabbed" a female classmate's groin area against her will in the fall of his senior year.

A university spokeswoman said in May that Michigan State was not aware of several other police reports documenting alleged sexual violence and misconduct by Robertson in high school.

In one of those cases, in 2013, a female peer of Robertson's told Wayne High School administrators and then police officers that Robertson forcefully attempted to rape her after she said she was interested in having sex with him. She said Robertson "grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her into the bathroom." She said he pulled her hair, pulled down her pants and made her sit on his lap before she was able to escape.

Several months later, the same girl told police that, in a separate incident, Robertson burst into a bathroom where she was having sex with a different person and said, "My turn." She said Robertson forced her over the bathtub and raped her after she told him no and tried to push him away.

Robertson, who declined to comment through his attorney, was not charged with a crime in either incident.

Wayne High School principal John Houser was aware of those incidents, according to court records. He did not tell Michigan State's coaches about them during their discussions about Robertson's behavior because he did not recall that Robertson was the accused student, said Krista Stockman, a spokeswoman for Fort Wayne Community Schools.

"Looking back now, he's putting it all together," she said. "He hadn't put it all together, but now, 'Oh, that was another situation involving him.'"

Stockman did say that Houser and Wayne football coach Derrick Moore told Michigan State officials that they were worried about Robertson's character and future because of the behavioral issues. Houser and Moore declined interview requests for this story.

"They were concerned," Stockman said when asked if the two men told Michigan State that Robertson could be a safety risk to others on campus. "I don't know that I can say how specific they got, but they were clear that they shared their concerns about his pattern of behavior."

Michigan State declined to provide details to Outside the Lines about what resources it used to vet Robertson. The university requires all incoming students to tell the school about any previous convictions on their adult or juvenile records. None of Robertson's previous incidents resulted in convictions, so he would not have been required to report them. MSU officials have stated that they did not know about every incident involving Robertson.

No one from Michigan State requested information about Robertson's criminal history in Fort Wayne through formal records requests during the school's vetting process, according to the city's records department. Officials in Fort Wayne were not able to determine if anyone at Michigan State had attempted to contact local law enforcement officers via email or phone to discuss Robertson.

Allen County (Indiana) Prosecutor Karen Richards said no one from Michigan State contacted her or her office for records or discussion about Robertson during the time that Michigan State was vetting him. Richards' office prosecuted Robertson for the misdemeanor battery charge that prompted a delay of the scholarship offer.

Michigan State officials have said they were aware that Robertson had been arrested twice in the year leading up to his arrival on campus. Allen County prosecutors charged him with criminal mischief and evading law enforcement in September of his senior year of high school. The charges were later dismissed, but he was suspended from the football team.

On Oct. 22, 2015, surveillance cameras in the high school captured video of Robertson allegedly groping a female classmate in the incident that led to the misdemeanor battery charge and a delay of MSU's scholarship offer. Stockman said she did not believe anyone from Michigan State saw the video of the encounter. She said the school typically does not share surveillance videos with anyone other than police to protect the privacy of its students.

The girl involved in that incident told police that Robertson had also harassed her and touched her inappropriately on two occasions elsewhere on school property, according to a Fort Wayne Police Department report. She told police that the first incident had occurred several months earlier. She said the second incident happened in early October 2015, and she reported it to the high school but was told there was no video of the alleged encounter.

The girl and her parents came to the school the day after she said Robertson had groped her in the high school, and at first they were apprehensive to say much due to Robertson's status as a top football recruit, the girl said. Now 18 and in college, the girl, along with her mother, spoke to Outside the Lines on the condition that their names not be used.

Robertson was suspended from school for five days, according to the police report. He was charged with misdemeanor battery three months later, in January 2016, and banned from returning to the high school's grounds for the remainder of his time as a student in Fort Wayne as a result of the incident. In March 2016, an Indiana judge allowed Robertson to enter a pretrial diversionary program that would wipe the charge from his record if he successfully completed a year of probation without further problems.

Stockman, the high school spokeswoman, said questions from MSU about Robertson's behavior were prompted by his suspension from the football team and occurred only in the fall of 2015 and not in the first three months of 2016 when Michigan State said it was thoroughly reviewing Robertson.

She said any additional conversations that Wayne High School officials had with Michigan State coaches or athletic department employees during the first few months of 2016 were focused on his ability to meet NCAA academic eligibility requirements and not his behavior.

Robertson was placed in a homebound education program to finish his senior year shortly after he was charged with the misdemeanor battery charge. Michigan State, Stockman said, was aware that Robertson was not allowed on the high school's campus when it extended its scholarship offer for him to come to the East Lansing campus.

Robertson entered a diversionary program for the battery charge in March 2016. Dantonio announced three weeks later that he and Michigan State "believe Auston should be provided with an opportunity to begin his education and playing career at Michigan State."

Dantonio said last year that Robertson was required to undergo an extensive educational program including "regular meetings with university staff addressing appropriate behavior and developmental growth" while he was on campus. Michigan State declined to provide further details about those sessions.

The former high school student involved in the battery incident and her mother said they agreed to allow Robertson into the diversionary program rather than pursue charges because they hoped his moving out of state to a college campus would help him get a fresh start. Stockman said officials at the high school held the same hopes.

Robertson successfully completed his legal diversionary program for the battery charge in late March 2017, during his freshman year at Michigan State. One month later, he faced the sexual assault charges that brought him back to a courtroom in Michigan on Wednesday.

There is no record of Michigan State officials speaking to law enforcement agencies in Indiana about his past or requesting records from them, despite the university learning that Robertson had been permanently barred from his high school's campus in January 2016

Would records normally be kept of something like this? Sounds like some ESPN made up compliance bullshit to me.

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:The insiders elsewhere are saying basically that the opposite of what CB is saying is true. That he was the one pressuring Coach to take AR. So yeah I can totally see a scenario similar to what Wags is outlining.

Also if what that one guy posted last night is true about the staff only knowing about the lesser incident in HS and there were actually 2 with one being far more severe (and even Murphy tweeted something about the HS withholding that information), then it certainly helps explain why Coach D would take that risk. I would still feel terrible about it but hard to really blame yourself if you weren't given the full picture when you made your decision.

Thanks WBH but I have to be done with this thread. It’s just aggravating. I’m going to a wine thing up in TC right now. When I get up there and tonight when I’m drunk, I’m going to text you some film I have on CB’s assistants that run his camp. Real shit they also formed a “security “ company that surprise surprise Blackwell has hired as the security for various schools he’s associated with.

What I’m saying is, I do t know how CMD got hooked up with him, but it was kind of a shocker he trolled those waters and since I’ve been married I’ve tried to look for good things in people first, but this guy is a blood sucker.

I’ll text you tonight. And yeah I won’t be watching the game tomorrow, I’ll be sipping wine. Yay

Of course ESPN is going to go with the "MSU didnt look hard enough" angle. "Missed opportunities" they call it. As is typical from them, they phrase it as if MSU tried to not find anything. Is it typical for schools to talk to police of anyone with prior issues? If they do, is it documented by the police? If that is all standard, I'm sure ESPN would point that out, but as is typical, they leave out any context on order to imply that something was nefarious. They almost make it sound like it is MSU's fault for the principal and player not disclosing things to MSU, as that is all in the paragraph under missed opportunities for MSU to learn more.

This is why a story like this needs real reporters looking into it, instead of espn. If this is a Blackwell smear job, let’s find out and expose him.

Rocinante wrote:This is why a story like this needs real reporters looking into it, instead of espn. If this is a Blackwell smear job, let’s find out and expose him.

How many reporters, if any, or going to have solid info about the shit he is talking about? Fucking Hondo?

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Rocinante wrote:This is why a story like this needs real reporters looking into it, instead of espn. If this is a Blackwell smear job, let’s find out and expose him.

How many reporters, if any, or going to have solid info about the shit he is talking about? Fucking Hondo?

I mean, with the Nassar shit, it would seem like something like this would get some larger paper attention.

Rocinante wrote:

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

How many reporters, if any, or going to have solid info about the shit he is talking about? Fucking Hondo?

I mean, with the Nassar shit, it would seem like something like this would get some larger paper attention.

Unfortunately athletes, in particular college football players getting involved in sexual assault is just not that big of news anymore. Just another piece of the broken system where stupid/questionable character people get big opportunities(because of their athletic ability) and fuck it up.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Rocinante wrote:

I mean, with the Nassar shit, it would seem like something like this would get some larger paper attention.

Unfortunately athletes, in particular college football players getting involved in sexual assault is just not that big of news anymore. Just another piece of the broken system where stupid/questionable character people get big opportunities(because of their athletic ability) and fuck it up.

Is that what the story is? I thought it was that negligence on the part of the coaching staff at the Nassar university, another girl got assaulted. Seems like a story worth exploring to me.

Rocinante wrote:

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Unfortunately athletes, in particular college football players getting involved in sexual assault is just not that big of news anymore. Just another piece of the broken system where stupid/questionable character people get big opportunities(because of their athletic ability) and fuck it up.

Is that what the story is? I thought it was that negligence on the part of the coaching staff at the Nassar university, another girl got assaulted. Seems like a story worth exploring to me.

Did you just word that differently or aren’t we talking about the same thing...?

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Rocinante wrote:

Is that what the story is? I thought it was that negligence on the part of the coaching staff at the Nassar university, another girl got assaulted. Seems like a story worth exploring to me.

Did you just word that differently or aren’t we talking about the same thing...?

I guess how would you word it? If I was a reporter, I’d look at this as a pattern at an embattled university. Or, a bitter ex staffer trying to sabotage his former employer. Either story is interesting especially given the recent history.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Rocinante wrote:This is why a story like this needs real reporters looking into it, instead of espn. If this is a Blackwell smear job, let’s find out and expose him.

How many reporters, if any, or going to have solid info about the shit he is talking about? Fucking Hondo?

Intended or not, you just identified a big problem with journalism today. How many reporters are going to have solid info? Probably none, as it usually won't just be dropped in their lap. How many could go out and act like an actual reporter and get solid info? A few probably could. They just don't care to.