Hannah Administration Building on Aug. 29, 2015. Courtney Kendler/The State News
MSU is suing ESPN over a public records request for police reports regarding ongoing sexual assault investigations, according to the Lansing State Journal.
An ESPN reporter submitted a Freedom of Information Act request with the university on Feb. 10, according to LSJ. A part of the request asked for records of arrests made from Feb. 6 to Feb. 9, along with police reports containing allegations of sexual assault since Dec. 10, 2016.
MSU provided some of the reports to ESPN, LSJ reports. However, the university withheld others at the request of Ingham County Prosecutor Carol Siemon's office, which was still deciding whether to issue criminal charges related to certain reports.
MSU filed its lawsuit Monday in the Michigan Court of Claims, asking the court to decide whether the police reports can be withheld due to the open investigations.
ESPN’s request came one day after MSU announced the suspension of three MSU football players and one staff member. The investigations have been ongoing since Feb. 9.
An affidavit signed by MSU spokesperson Jason Cody as part of the lawsuit stated ESPN reporter Paula Lavigne told Cody ESPN was prepared to sue MSU again over the records in a phone call last month. Lavigne reminded Cody of the open records lawsuit won against the university in 2015, LSJ reports.
Cody could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.
Stay with The State News for further updates on the ongoing investigations.
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