GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan State University Trustee Mitch Lyons is looking beyond the criminal charges of which he was acquitted this week.
Lyons, 47, was charged with the crime in December and said he learned that there was a warrant for his arrest when he was contacted by a news reporter. Lyons said he challenged a call a referee made at a basketball game he was coaching, but at no point shoved him as the referee claimed. After a two-day trial, the Jackson County judge on the case sided with Lyons and found him not guilty.
"A lot of relief," Lyons told 24 Hour News 8 Tuesday, the day after the verdict. "You know, it's been a long five months."
The most difficult part of navigating the accusations, Lyons said, was the distress the case put on his family. He said he believes that his status as a public figure caused prosecutors to pursue the case despite evidence that the assault never happened.
"This allegation occurred and in a lot of people's minds I was guilty," Lyons said. "I firmly believe that this would have been dropped if I had not been a member of the Board of Trustees."
The criminal case was one of two public storms Lyons was dealing with. As the charges were filed, MSU was also dealing with the fallout from the Larry Nassar sexual abuse criminal case.
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