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Ex-MSU staffer files suit against Mark Dantonio, former administrators
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A former member of the Michigan State football staff has filed a federal lawsuit against head coach Mark Dantonio and former university administrators, according to a report.
On Tuesday, Matt Mencarini of the Lansing State Journal reported that Curtis Blackwell filed a lawsuit against Dantonio, former president Lou Anna Simon, former athletic director Mark Hollis and two Michigan State police detectives.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants “feeling the heat from the Larry Nassar cover-up, and eager to prove they were tough on cover-ups, ran roughshod over (Blackwell’s) rights when he was wrongly accused of covering up for MSU athletes involved in an alleged sexual assault of a female co-ed in January 2017.”
A copy of the lawsuit was sent to Michigan State University weeks before it was filed, according to Blackwell’s attorney. The school did not make a comment on the situation.
Blackwell is the former director of college advancement and performance at Michigan State. He was suspended in February 2017 on the same day when a staff member and three players were suspended for their role in a reported sexual assault.
Blackwell was arrested in February when it was determined that he interfered with the investigation, according to the Lansing State Journal.
Dantonio did not renew Blackwell’s contract in May 2017.
More on Blackwell’s lawsuit against Dantonio, Simon, Hollis and the two officers can be viewed at the Lansing State Journal’s website.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB