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Report: Michigan Attorney General rules no charges warranted against former MSU basketball player Brock Washington

October 27, 2020
Freshman guard Brock Washington (14) looks on during post-game interviews of the NCAA Final Four game against Texas Tech at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on April 6, 2019. The Spartans lost to the Red Raiders 61-51.  (Nic Antaya/The State News)
Freshman guard Brock Washington (14) looks on during post-game interviews of the NCAA Final Four game against Texas Tech at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on April 6, 2019. The Spartans lost to the Red Raiders 61-51. (Nic Antaya/The State News)

Editor's Note: This story was updated to include a statement from Ryan Jarvi, spokesperson for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's Office has ruled that charges are not necessary for former Michigan State men’s basketball player Brock Washington, according to a report from the Lansing State Journal.

Washington was accused in January of sexual assault, resulting in him being suspended indefinitely from the men’s basketball team. No charges were filed at the time. Then in March, the case was sent to the Michigan Attorney General at the alleged victims request. 

The AG's office spokesperson Ryan Jarvi provided The State News with the following statement on the case review:

"Following an in-depth review and consideration of the evidence, the Attorney General’s office has decided not to file charges against Brock Washington, who was a Michigan State University student and athlete when he was accused of sexual misconduct. As with any report of alleged sexual misconduct, our prosecutors took this case very seriously and conducted a comprehensive investigation to determine whether additional action was warranted by our office. However, a thorough evaluation of the circumstances, witness testimony and other information surrounding this reported incident did not support the filing of criminal charges," Jarvi said in an email statement.

In early September, the university recommended that Washington be banned from MSU, which was first reported by ESPN.

Michigan State University Spokesperson Emily Guerrant said Tuesday that the “process is still underway” and that no final decision has been made yet in terms of Washington's status on being banned. 

Guerrant also confirmed that Washington is not currently enrolled in any classes at MSU. 

Washington, a six-foot four-inch guard from Southfield, Michigan, joined the team as a walk-on prior to the 2017-2018 season. He appeared in 16 games over the last two seasons averaging 0.8 points per game. 

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