A Michigan State board of trustees meeting got heated Friday when Kaylee Lorincz, who was sexually assaulted by former university doctor Larry Nassar, alleged that interim MSU president John Engler had offered her $250,000 to drop her lawsuit against the school during a meeting for which her lawyer was not present.
Lorincz said Engler made the offer when she visited the school to sign up to speak at Friday’s meeting.
“He explained all the new things they’ve implemented, which sounded promising, but said working together couldn’t occur until all the civil suits are settled,” she said. “Mr. Engler then looked directly at me and asked, “Right now if I wrote you a check for $250, would you take it? When I explained that it’s not about the money for me and that I just want to help, he said, “Just give me a number.”
Lorincz said she felt “bullied” by Engler.
“He then proceeded to attack my attorneys, who had no idea that this meeting was taking place,” she said. “At this point I was feeling pretty bad. President Engler and his lawyer had just tried to coerce me into settling a lawsuit without my attorney present. Then, President Engler started saying how sad it was that hundreds of good osteopathic doctors at MSU are being judged by one, one bad doctor. My Mom interrupted and said well what about former dean [William] Strampel? Wasn’t he just arrested? President Engler rolled his eyes and attempted to fluff it off and said “oh that was no big deal, it was only just a slap on the butt.”
As Lorincz spoke, the crowd (reportedly made up of protesters, activists and victims) reacted loudly and angrily to her account of her experience. Here’s a clip, via Kellie Rowe of Fox 2 in Detroit:
Gasps and outrage in the board room today when a Nassar survivor describes in great detail how she says MSU Interim President John Engler attempted to coerce her into settling her case against the university. @FOX2News Listen: pic.twitter.com/GiAbpR1S8f
— Kellie Rowe (@kellierowe) April 13, 2018
Several minutes into Lorincz’s statement to the board, a voice from the front of the room informed the 18-year-old that her time to speak was up and attempted to move her along as police approached, which angered the crowd once again.
This Nassar survivor was then interrupted and told her time was up. She said she wasn’t finished, but was told repeatedly her time was up, as the crowd chanted “let her speak.” Police approached. @FOX2News pic.twitter.com/oOWtC8XzNv
— Kellie Rowe (@kellierowe) April 13, 2018
Lorincz eventually finished her statement, saying to the board that, “When you protect and promote a sexual predator and foster a culture of lies and cover-ups, you are responsible.”
Engler’s spokesperson denied that the interim president had offered Lorincz $250,000 to drop her suit. Via the Associated Press:
Engler’s spokeswoman, Emily Guerrant, said she was in the room during the conversation and does not remember Engler verbalizing a dollar figure.
“My interpretation of the discussion was not that he was saying, ‘I’m offering you $250,000,'” Guerrant said. “It was a discussion about the civil litigation and how it was going on.”
Between the Nassar scandal, sexual assault allegations against Spartans football and basketball players and the university’s apparent clunkiness in handling these accusations at every step, Michigan State clearly has a whole lot of problems to work through.