Charges have been filed and three players have been dismissed, but where does Michigan State football go after the sexual assault case?
A program rocked in scandal, a coaching staff left searching for answers, and players looking to re-center themselves amid a sexual assault case. Michigan State football is left in what some would call shambles, looking to figure out how to stop the bleeding while creating a safe atmosphere on campus.
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This whole situation involving Donnie Corley, Josh King and Demetric Vance, who were all dismissed from the team Tuesday, begs the question, “Where does Michigan State go from here?”
Well, that’s a loaded question.
For one, the players need to be more educated regarding situations to be, or not to be, in. Mark Dantonio stressed at his press conference Tuesday that each player has been educated about Title IX and what situations not to put themselves in. Moving forward, that needs to be the primary topic of discussion.
Although the players are considered “innocent until proven guilty” by the court of law, Dantonio admitted that even the fact that these kids put themselves in the situation was enough for them to be dismissed from the program.
Next, the victim needs to be accounted for. Just because the players have been punished by the university doesn’t mean Dantonio’s job is over with. She should not be forgotten and he needs to make sure she knows that the university will be there for whatever she needs.
Lastly, in order to move forward, the program must address the wrongdoings internally. Now that the public got to see what Dantonio was feeling via the press conference, it’s time for the team to get together and the upperclassmen leaders to take the reigns. It’s time to make sure everyone is accountable for their own actions.
It’s time to be a university that parents aren’t afraid to send their kids to. It starts with each player who remains.
As Dantonio said earlier, there are plenty of good kids on this team who follow the rules and who lead by example. The actions of a few shouldn’t represent the whole. However, it’ll be up to them to make the culture change for the better.
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What’s next for Michigan State football? Winning games in 2017 won’t fix things, but a complete overhaul and re-centering of the program internally will.