MSU – No Fly Zone, But Education

Michigan State’s football team in 2013 was praised for its “No Fly Zone” defense, but before that, in 2004 former MSU doctor Nassar wrote a chapter of a textbook about sports medicine where he described a patient’s sensitive area as the “no fly zone.”  Alexandra Ilitch, an investigative journalist covering the MSU/Nassar story for WLNS, thoroughly analyzed the chapter of “Principles of Manual Sports Medicine.”  Dean Strampel of the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine formally imposed similar restrictions on Nassar in 2014 following a patient’s complaints, but Nassar did not follow those restrictions and the University did not adequately monitor Nassar’s compliance.

The US Olympic Committee Board of Directors last evening asked USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny to resign.  A California lawyer wrote a letter to the committee just prior to this decision.  In his letter he noted “The entire USA Gymnastics leadership and management shares the blame for this failure.”  He further asked, “If the wholesale rape of hundreds of children because of organizational culture and indifference is not enough, then respectfully, what is?”  So, MSU, what is?

Sports Illustrated nailed it by asking the obvious: Could he have been stopped before (2 decades at MSU) now?  The answer is yes.  The lack of education and communication from the very first year he was hired by MSU in 1997 is reprehensible.  The staff should have been educated, trained to recognize serial child molesters.  Rather than appearing to be “monsters,” perpetrators are generally charming, friendly, gaining widespread trust.  Their survival depends on adults.  Adults can’t rely on others to fulfill their obligations.  Call 911.  Any suspected child abuse, you must go immediately to the police and not attempt to deal with it internally.