Tom Izzo 'Sought Out' Witness To Alleged Sexual Assault Involving Player
Tom Izzo and two assistant coaches contacted a witness in a 2017 investigation of criminal sexual conduct involving a basketball player before the witness had discussed the incident with police or school investigators.
MSU student Brayden Smith was with then-freshman guard Brock Washington on the night a female student said Washington forcibly groped her.
On Aug. 31, 2017, the female student told police that Washington grabbed her butt without her consent, tried to pull her to the floor despite her telling him no, reached toward her vagina and kissed her without her consent, according to the Michigan State University police report.
When police officers interviewed Smith about what he had seen that night in August 2017, he said he had already been contacted by Izzo and assistant coaches Dwayne Stephens and Mike Garland about the incident. They "asked [Smith] if he was OK and if there was anything that he had seen during the evening," according to the report. Smith made a similar statement to a Michigan State Title IX investigator: "Mr. Smith said he was sought out by Mr. Izzo and other members of the basketball coaching staff. Mr. Smith said they asked him what he knew and if he was OK," according to the Title IX report. Smith, who was not present for most of the interactions between Washington and the woman, told police that what he saw he thought was consensual.