The Michigan State University Board of Directors is meeting Friday afternoon in the wake of the Larry Nassar sentencing hearing. The college, which has been the subject of complaints by Nassar’s victims, now must look for a new president. Lou Anna Simon, the head of the college, resigned this week amid pressure from both the state legislature, the victims, and the community. Other faculty members have resigned or retired, including MSU Athletic Director Mark Hollis.
Each member of the board appears to be in the process of reading a statement. One board member choked up as he commended the bravery of the 150+ victims who spoke against Nassar this week and last week. Another said she would direct the university’s legal team to work with victims, though she also choked up when discussing the resignation of the school’s athletic director, whom she commended. Yet another member of the board admitted that she personally made mistakes as a member of the board and wishes she had more bravely raised her voice. Another member of the board said he was disgusted by the conduct, which occurred, he said, for 20 years, and struggled to reconcile Nassar’s reputation within the campus community and the “monster” he was in the eyes of the victims. He and other board members promised to understand why no one heard the victims’ voices sooner.
Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after he admitted to sexual misconduct with female gymnasts he was supposed to be treating as a doctor. Some were younger than 13 years old. Nassar also faces a 60-year sentence on federal pornography charges and an upcoming sentencing in a neighboring Michigan county for similar sexual misconduct.
Video courtesy WOFL