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The image of Michigan State University as a sports factory, with leadership more concerned with athletics than, say, a team doctor who's a serial sex abuser, keeps getting more reinforcement.
Friday's Free Press has an investigation of MSU sports-team travel records, which show that the university's trustees often hitch a ride on team charters to games, to an extent that a reasonable person might conclude that's the reason they sought the job in the first place. Writes David Jesse:
Board members' travel with the teams raises questions about the oversight the board gives to athletics, especially in light of the Nassar case and ongoing questions about the athletic department's response to complaints about sexual assaults.
"I will never forget the day that I sat in court to watch Larry Nassar sentenced in federal court, while photos were swirling online of the MSU Board of Trustees partying in Portland to celebrate Phil Knight's birthday," Nassar survivor Morgan McCaul said in an interview with the Free Press.
...While there's nothing legally wrong with board members taking the trips, Armand Alacbay, vice president for trustee and government affairs for the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, said it can be problematic.
Joel Ferguson, a former MSU student athlete himself, appears to be the most enthusiastic user of this perk -- traveling with various teams 19 times in five years.
Peer schools don't offer this benefit, or not to this extent, limiting trustee perks to tickets, or to travel with a team only when it's paid for by the trustees themselves, Jesse found.
