Board secretary Stephan Fletcher and MSU General Counsel stopped Denno, saying it was not a portion of the meeting during which trustees can make motions. Board chair Rema Vassar initially supported Denno's motion, but eventually deferred to Fletcher and Quinn.

Trustee Dan Kelly said he would potentially support a motion to release the documents, but said it wasn't appropriate to "ambush trustees" with a surprise vote. He suggested the board call a special meeting before their next regular meeting in December to consider the issue.

The board's years-long withholding of the documents from investigators was heavily discussed during the public comment section of Friday's meeting.

Several survivors of Nassar's abuse compared the university's handling of fired football coach Mel Tucker to the Nassar case, in that MSU only acted on allegations once they had been made public.

"MSU follows a pattern of abuse when put in a corner," survivor Jennifer Hayes told the board during the public comment section of the meeting.

She said MSU follows DARVO — Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender — when dealing with victims of sexual assault.

Melissa Hudecz, a Nassar survivor, criticized Byrum for not taking action on Tucker sooner and leading the effort to withhold the Nassar documents.

"What a dismal lack of leadership as a senior member of the board," Hudecz said. "Since there's no institutional accountability here, we are here."

Recent controversy between board members have charged the survivors' fight to release the documents. Trustee Brianna Scott called for the removal of board chair Rema Vassar in a letter sent to the board Sunday night, alleging she unsuccessfully attempted to coordinate the release of the Nassar documents, among other claims. Vassar responded, claiming it was Scott who interfered with her attempt.

Trustee Dianne Byrum has publicly supported the call for Vassar's removal.

The survivors have sided with Vassar, who campaigned on releasing the documents but has yet to do so.

Scott alleges Vassar contacted Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel without first consulting the administration or other board members, so when the AG office’s letter of request actually came, they were not able to successfully vote on its release.

At the time, Nessel told The State News she had “literally no idea” why Vassar would ask for the request if she wasn’t going to comply and release the documents.

Scott alleges Vassar asked Nessel for the letter without consulting the administration or other board members.

But, when she met with members of Nessel’s staff in February, Vassar “explicitly told them" she had the votes to release the documents, AG communications director Kimberly Bush said in an email to The State News.

Vassar disputed the allegations Monday night. She claimed it was Scott who interfered with her attempt to coordinate the release of the documents, and that a majority of the board were in favor of their release.

“Trustee Scott then said she spoke with Attorney General Dana Nessel, incorrectly represented our intentions, and was reportedly told that, in fact, the AG did not want the documents,” Vassar wrote. “Therefore, the Board decided not to give them to the AG.”

The board has long withheld these records. In March 2021, under the leadership of then-chair Byrum, the board privately agreed to invoke attorney-client privilege over the documents, citing then-ongoing legal disagreements with 12 of the university’s insurers regarding a $500 million settlement to Nassar survivors.

Their decision sparked protests and backlash from survivors and the MSU community. Survivors also called on the board to vote to release the documents at their September meeting.

The “release” of the documents would not immediately make them public, according to MSU Spokesperson Emily Guerrant. They would instead be turned over to Nessel for use in her investigation.