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Michigan State trustee defends school president, says there's more than 'just this Nassar thing'

Posted at 12:17 PM, Jan 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-23 14:06:01-05

Joel Ferguson, the vice chair of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees says he is throwing his support behind President Lou Anna Simon because there is more to the school than "just this Nassar thing." 

Critics have called for Simon's resignation as Dr. Larry Nassar stands trial after being accused of sexually assaulting dozens of women and young girls while he treated athletes for sports injuries on campus. 

During Nassar's trial, several victims have said they reported abuse to Michigan State officials, but the reports were ignored.

While speaking on WFVN radio on Tuesday, Ferguson said that during a five-hour board meeting last week, the board spoke about Simon for about 10 minutes. 

"We unanimously decided right away that Lou Anna was going to...we were going to support her staying as president." 

He went on to talk about her hustle in securing major donations for the Breslin Center, and that he doesn't think she would step down from her position. 

"She's a fighter and her overall, what she's done for her university, she's not gonna get ran out of there by what somebody else did," he said. 

Ferguson also says he doesn't think the NCAA will get involved down the road. 

"This is not Penn State," he said during the interview.  

Listen to the full interview in the video player below, courtesy of 730 AM.