Tom Kirvan
Legal News, Editor-in-Chief
As a conference, the Big Ten takes pride in the academic and athletic accomplishments of its “14” universities.
And rightfully so, as the conference includes some of the finest institutes of higher learning in the country, headlined by Northwestern University, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Michigan.
It also includes nine of the top 15 largest alumni networks in the country, led by No. 1 Penn State and runner-up Indiana University. U-M ranks third and Michigan State fourth, according to the list compiled by The Wall Street Journal, which measured the ranking based on the sheer number of living alumni at each university.
One stat that Big Ten officials won’t spend much time touting, however, is the number of conference schools that have been embroiled in sexual abuse scandals involving thousands of victims.
If this was framed within the context of a “Final Four,” the Big Ten would have all of the slots filled, thanks to conference powers Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Michigan.
The conference’s dubious march to the sickening version of the “Final Four” began in 2011 when the Jerry Sandusky scandal unfolded at Penn State, which branded the former defensive coordinator of the football team as a serial pedophile who eventually was convicted of sexually abusing a number of boys over a 15-year period.
A subsequent investigation would topple three Penn State administrators who were charged with covering up early allegations of misconduct by Sandusky.
In 2016, following an exhaustive investigation by The Indianapolis Star, Michigan State would take its turn in an unwanted spotlight when hundreds of sexual abuse allegations would be leveled against Larry Nassar, a physician who had worked for years at MSU and for USA Gymnastics.
Some of the allegations against Nassar dated to the year 2000 and later would involve several world-class gymnasts, including the likes of Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, and Aly Raisman.
Nassar subsequently pleaded guilty to various sexual assault charges as well as to possessing child pornography, and is expected to spend the rest of his life in state prison.
Similar to the mess at Penn State, various Michigan State officials were charged with looking the other way while Nassar preyed on his victims, forcing the early exits of President Lou Anna Simon, Athletic Director Mark Hollis, and MSU Gymnastics Coach Kathy Klages. In May 2018, it was reported that MSU and Nassar's victims reached a $500 million class action settlement.
At Ohio State, an investigation by the university began in 2018 into hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse against former OSU wrestling team doctor Richard Strauss, who committed suicide in 2005.
Strauss was alleged to have sexually abused upward of 350 wrestlers from 1979 to 1997. A number of those wrestlers have said publicly that former assistant wrestling coach Jim Jordan, a Republican firebrand who has been a U.S. Congressman since 2007, was aware of and did nothing to stop the systematic abuse by Strauss. Jordan has repeatedly denied that he was aware of Strauss’s misconduct.
And yet, OSU eventually agreed to pay 185 survivors of the abuse approximately $252,000 apiece, even though Ohio’s statute of limitations sheltered the university from liability.
All the while, U-M was sitting on a powder keg of its own, due to the evil nature of the late Dr. Robert Anderson, a former university physician accused of abusing hundreds of students from 1996 to 2003.
Like Nassar and Strauss, Anderson was a doctor who abused his trusted position to prey on college students and athletes, causing incalculable harm to more than 1,000 victims. The U-M Board of Regents in January recognized as much, approving a $490 million settlement agreement with survivors. Roughly $30 million of the settlement will be designated for future claimants.
Which leads to the recent news that a bipartisan package of bills has been introduced in the Michigan Legislature “to ensure all survivors of sexual assault in Michigan” receive the justice they deserve.
The bills, according to their sponsors, would eliminate the civil statute of limitations if there is a criminal prosecution that results in a conviction. They also would enable all survivors to file claims against their abusers up to age 48 or seven years from the time the survivor realized they were abused, whichever is later.
Ronald Weiner, president of the Michigan Association for Justice, is among those hoping for passage of the bills.
“Every survivor of sexual assault deserves the right to seek justice,” said Weiner, a partner at Lipton Law in Southfield. “Unfortunately, too many survivors never get their day in court because of Michigan’s stringent statute of limitations.
“Justice demands more than an arbitrary approach and limited reforms when predators, such as Robert Anderson and Larry Nassar, are discovered decades later after being concealed by a culture of indifference and institutional protection,” Weiner added. “It is time for Michigan to stop guarding serial abusers and join the expanded list of states that are modernizing antiquated statutes of limitations laws to allow sexual assault survivors to come forward and seek justice when they are ready.
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