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Report: Judge dismisses Curtis Blackwell’s lawsuit against Mark Dantonio, other former MSU officials
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A United States district judge has dismissed the lawsuit ex-Michigan State staffer Curtis Blackwell filed against retired head coach Mark Dantonio, athletic director Mark Hollis and president Lou Anna Simon, according to a report.
The Detroit Free Press reported on Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Janet Neff dismissed Blackwell’s claims that he was wrongfully terminated for declining to speak to detectives during an alleged sexual assault investigation in 2017 that involved former Spartans football players.
Neff agreed with another judge’s recommendations that Blackwell’s attorneys used the court’s processes to “harangue the MSU Defendants into exhausted compliance in the form of settlement.”
The judge also dismissed Blackwell’s claims against former MSU president Lou Anna Simon and former athletic director Mark Hollis.
Per the report, Blackwell’s claim of wrongful arrest by two Michigan State University police officers has not been dismissed. He will have until June 5 to find an attorney to represent him in that case.
Blackwell was a staffer for Michigan State from 2013 through May 2017. That year, Dantonio informed Blackwell that his contract would not be renewed and that it would expire, forcing Blackwell out of his position.
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