Michigan State Basketball: What does Travis Walton statement mean?
Former Michigan State star Travis Walton released a statement in regards to accusations from ESPN’s Outside the Lines report.
After being buried by ESPN‘s ‘Outside the Lines’ report last Friday and throughout the weekend, former Michigan State basketball star Travis Walton was the topic of conversation, even being relieved of his duties as an assistant coach for the Clippers’ G-League team.
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Walton’s character was called into question as it was listed in the report. He was accused of hitting a female student at the bar, but the charges were later reduced to littering. He was then accused of sexual assault, but that was never brought to police.
On Tuesday, he released a statement to bring forth the facts, according to him, from everything in the report which involved him.
Former Michigan State guard Travis Walton has released a statement: pic.twitter.com/O9i867nCF9
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 30, 2018
One thing this statement does is take some pressure off Tom Izzo. No longer does he have to provide more information about Walton to bloodhounds in the media room after games — like what happened at Maryland.
When Izzo was asked why Walton left the program in 2010, he claimed that he had graduated and Tisha Thompson, the OTL reporter at the Maryland game, said that was false and he was a grad assistant. This statement by Walton shows that Izzo was telling the truth. Walton was taking classes to graduate and helping out with the basketball team at the same time.
Moreover, he said that he wasn’t hired by the staff but rather it was just him helping as a student assistant the year after his eligibility was up.
Walton also refuted claims that he hit the woman in the bar and also that the alleged sexual assault in 2010 never happened and was with a woman who he had seen multiple times and was always consensual.
This statement is exactly what Izzo needed because he couldn’t continue to field answers without having Walton speak for himself.
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Izzo and Mark Dantonio have both welcomed investigations and it seems like their sides of the story are lining up correctly.