Amid ‘horrible’ offseason, Spartans address image

The Michigan State football team has been in the news this offseason for all the wrong reasons, and as the program dealt with sexual assault allegations against four players, the rest of the Spartans generally stayed out of the public eye.

That changed Tuesday when a handful of players were made available to the media — and had a chance to talk about what they can do to improve the program’s image.

“We represent Michigan State,” quarterback Damion Terry said. “There’s going to be eyes on us, no matter where we go.”

Michigan State dismissed three players from the team last week after criminal sexual conduct charges were brought against them, and another player was dismissed after a separate criminal sexual conduct charge against him in April.

The team largely stayed quiet while investigations loomed over the program, and although the charged athletes are no longer on the team, there’s no telling how much damage has been done to the Spartans’ reputation.

Terry said community involvement has become a point of emphasis lately. Michigan State has been teaming up with Lansing Promise, a program aimed at helping young people in the area have access to education and career training following high school.

Terry and safety Khari Willis both talked a bit about visiting schools and interacting with kids.

“That goes a long way — just seeing all those kids and how much we can impact them,” Terry said. “We just want to keep being that light and spreading that light among the football program, during a horrible offseason.”

“They’ve got a few programs with the Lansing Promise, and I feel like that’s a real good avenue for me in the future as well,” Willis said.