Mich. State president apologizes

Michigan State President John Engler issued a statement apologizing for an April email in which he attacked a Larry Nassar survivor. In the email, Engler said Rachael Denhollander, the first person to publicly accuse Nassar of sexual assault, was taking kickbacks from the trial attorneys involved in suing MSU. Part of Engler’s statement, issued eight days after the Detroit Free Press and the Chronicle of Higher Education revealed the emails: “Last week while I was on my way to Texas, a private email conversation of mine from April was made public. I didn’t give it the consideration it warranted. That was a big mistake. I was wrong. I apologize. When I started this interim position in February, it was never my intent to have an adversarial relationship with some of the survivors. My speculation about the lead plaintiff receiving kickbacks or referral fees hurt her deeply and for that I am truly sorry. She and the other survivors suffered greatly and they are entitled not to have their sincerity questioned, either individually or as a group. I apologize to her and her sister survivors.”