EAST LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — Amid increasing criticism for the way Michigan State University handled complaints against former sports doctor Larry Nassar and questions about her ability to continue to lead the university, MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon is stepping down.
Simon’s resignation letter was posted on the university’s website Wednesday evening.
She wrote in the letter that “blame is inevitable.”
“As president, it is only natural that I am the focus of this anger,” she continued. “I understand, and that is why I have limited my personal statements. Throughout my career, I have worked very hard to put Team MSU first. Throughout my career, I have consistently and persistently spoken and worked on behalf of Team MSU. I have tried to make it not about me. I urge those who have supported my work to understand that I cannot make it about me now. Therefore, I am tendering my resignation as president according to the terms of my employment agreement.”
Simon’s letter began by again expressing sympathy for the scores of girls and women who say Nassar, a famed doctor for MSU and USA Gymnastics, sexually assaulted them under the guise of medical treatment.
“To the survivors, I can never say enough that I am so sorry that a trusted, renowned physician was really such an evil, evil person who inflicted such harm under the guise of medical treatment,” Simon wrote. “I know that we all share the same resolve to do whatever it takes to avert such tragedies here and elsewhere.”
She thanked MSU outside counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, a former U.S. attorney, and the university’s Board of Trustees for their statements “about my integrity and the fact that there is no cover-up.” She said she’ll continue to cooperate with the Michigan attorney general’s review of how the university handled the Nassar case
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