Gore also defended former President Lou Anna Simon, who, at the time, had just resigned over what critics called a mishandling of Nassar that empowered his years of unchecked abuse.

The comments were made public last week, when Michigan’s Attorney General released thousands of internal MSU documents related to Nassar.

While a vast majority of the documents regard administrators who have left MSU in the years since the scandal, these records of Gore’s meeting include a harsh reproof of one of the most powerful people in MSU’s administration today.

The comments were reported to MSU’s Office of Institutional Equity by a survivor of Nassar’s abuse who was among those in the room. She left the meeting “crying and very upset,” an investigator noted.

The concerns were forwarded to Gore’s superiors, as they were more so an "HR issue” than a matter for the Office of Institutional Equity. In a meeting with them, Gore “acknowledged that some of what he said was not received as he had intended,” emails say.

The State News asked Gore how he intended the comments to be received. He declined to answer, saying “I don’t remember the statement or context of the statement.”

MSU declined to say if Gore faced any consequences following the incident.

What Gore said

The comments were made during a meeting between Gore and supervisors of the campus Starbucks and Sparty’s convenience stores. The intended topic was “building a strong community and creating a successful work environment.”

Gore raised the Nassar issue about 20 minutes into the meeting, according to the investigator’s notes, saying “Who’s heard of the Nassar trial?”

“In some way shape or form, we have all been affected,” Gore said, according to the notes. He talked about his neighbor, who was treated by Nassar but, in her case, “this was a legitimate medical procedure,” he said.

Then, Gore told the group: “A very large majority of the women did not understand that it was a medical procedure,” referring to Nassar’s patients, who were repeatedly sexually abused under the guise of medical treatment.

Gore also defended Simon, who had just resigned from MSU’s presidency amid widespread criticism of her handling of Nassar.

“You know that Lou Anna resigned,” Gore said, according to the notes. “Not many people know this, it’s not that she didn’t care, she’s just introverted. She was such a good president, she did so much for this university. She shouldn't have been forced out, she was unrightfully forced out.”

After that, Gore attempted to open up the discussion, the notes say. He asked the group how “we can combat this in our community?”

It was quiet, the notes say, as Gore “called on a bunch of people and they didn’t really know how to answer the question.”

Then, the student-workers asked him, “What is being done on your level?” Or, as the investigator wrote, “essentially, ‘What are you doing?’”

The upset survivor who reported the incident “didn’t understand why (Gore) was talking about it,” the investigator wrote. “No one asked him to justify Nassar’s actions…”

Administration Reporters Owen McCarthy and Theo Scheer contributed reporting.