Michigan State fined $4.5M in Nassar case
The government on Thursday ordered Michigan State University to make sweeping changes and pay a $4.5 million fine after determining that it failed to adequately respond to sexual assault complaints against Larry Nassar, a campus sports doctor who molested elite gymnasts and other female athletes.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced the penalty after the conclusion of two federal investigations. She said Nassar’s actions were “disgusting and unimaginable” and that the university’s response fit the same description.
“Too many people in power knew about the behaviors and the complaints and yet the predators continued on the payroll and abused even more students,” DeVos said in a call with reporters. “This must not happen again, there or anywhere else.”
The fine, which will go to the Treasury, is the largest levied under the Clery Act , a law that requires colleges to collect data on campus crime and notify students of threats. The previous largest fine, $2.4 million, was imposed in 2016 against Pennsylvania State University over its handling of sexual misconduct involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
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Basketball World
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Cup: Jaylen Brown
scored 20 points, Kemba Walker added 15 and the U.S. World Cup team finally got to enjoy an easy game, rolling past Japan 98-45 in the Group E finale. Harrison Barnes
scored 14 points while Joe Harris and Donovan Mitchell each had 10 for the Americans (3-0), who are bidding for an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup title. … The Czech Republic is headed to the second round of the World Cup and Turkey’s collapse is complete. Vojtech Hruban scored 18 points, Ondrej Balvin finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds and the
Czechs beat Turkey 91-76 in Shanghai to take the second and final secondround spot out of Group E. … Greece is headed to the second round of the World Cup after beating New Zealand 103-97 in a showdown between teams that had a shot at advancing. Greece was the last team to make the 16-team field. New Zealand has to settle for the consolation bracket and will be one of the strongest teams in that 16-team pairing.
Basketball Hall of
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Fame: Vlade Divac and
Jack Sikma, big men with a shooting and passing touch who helped redefine how NBA centers play, await induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday. “We showed we could play from different positions on the floor and do different things,” Divac said Thursday. “I was always happiest when I was passing, making my teammates better. I’m glad we could contribute to basketball in that way.” They are being enshrined along with Sidney Moncrief, Paul Westphal, Bobby Jones, Al Attles, Carl Braun, Chuck Cooper, Bill Fitch and the WNBA’s Teresa Weatherspoon. Also entering the shrine are two college teams: the Tennessee A&I men from 1957-59, the first to win three consecutive titles; and the Wayland Baptist women’s teams that won 131 consecutive games from 1953-58.
Soccer: Spain and Italy ● have both kept perfect records in European Championship qualifying, moving to five wins from five, but it was far from easy. Italy was lackluster in attack against Armenia and Spain had a player sent off as it scraped to a 2-1 win over Romania. Elsewhere, Switzerland couldn’t turn dominance into goals in a 1-1 draw with Ireland, while Israel’s bid to reach its first European Championship took a blow in a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia.