EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – For Michigan State University (MSU), the Larry Nassar scandal wasn’t about healing or accountability – it was about survival. At least, that’s how the university’s top lawyer framed it according to a new bombshell report from The State News who says their mission seemed to be to save the university’s image and prevent a massive settlement.

The Larry Nassar scandal at MSU involved Dr. Larry Nassar, a former sports physician, who was found guilty of sexually abusing hundreds of young female athletes under the guise of medical treatment. Over a period of decades, Nassar’s abuse went unchecked, despite numerous reports from victims. The scandal exposed systemic failures at both MSU and USA Gymnastics, where complaints were ignored, allowing the abuse to continue. Nassar was eventually sentenced to life in prison, and the university faced significant public outrage, legal action, and a $500 million settlement to survivors.

MORE NEWS: Snowplow Safety 101: Michigan Drivers Urged to Prepare for New Law as Winter Finally Approaches

In documents released last week by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nesssel, former MSU General Counsel Robert Noto compared the university’s handling of the lawsuits from Nassar’s survivors to a war. The mission? Deflect blame, minimize payouts, and save face at all costs.

The “enemy”? The very women whose lives were shattered by Nassar’s years of unchecked abuse. Noto’s approach was disturbingly clear: MSU would only win if these survivors – whom he called “the opponent” – lost their will to fight or by “overwhelming defeat on the battlefield or strategic error.” According to Noto, MSU just needed to outlast them, through overwhelming force or sheer exhaustion.

Survivors as liabilities, not victims.

MSU’s legal team seemed to view the over 300 survivors as more of a PR nightmare than human beings. In their internal communications, survivors were treated like ticking time bombs, with each new allegation considered another disaster for the university’s image by creating a new crisis. A Noto memo even likened the situation to a “Rocky movie.”

And the attorneys representing the survivors? They were dismissed as arrogant, aggressive, impolite and ambulance-chasers, accused of exploiting their clients for personal gain. One of those attorneys was John Manly, who represented hundreds of Nassar survivors. He said in an email to The State News, “For the record, I am impolite to people in positions of authority who protect pedophiles.”

Noto also accuses the media of being a “willing ally” of the survivors’ legal team, all too eager to print any sensational headline that made MSU look bad.

MSU’s communication strategy: less professionalism, more playground banter

When it came to dealing with the survivors’ lawyers, MSU’s team didn’t exactly take the high road. Instead, their internal chats read more like a middle school lunchroom with lot of name-calling. Manly, was a frequent target. Deputy General Counsel Kristine Zayko even quipped, “He’s a jerk. You must be doing a good job if he’s mad at you.”

Villain or victim? MSU’s warped self-perception.

MORE NEWS: Crews Clean Up Styrofoam Along Lake Superior

In the warped view of MSU’s legal team, the university wasn’t the enabler of one of the worst serial predators in recent history; it was the victim of an unfair media, greedy lawyers, and litigious survivors. Former MSU President Lou Anna Simon even floated the idea of suing The Washington Post after an editorial criticized the university’s handling of the scandal.

By positioning themselves as the underdog, MSU’s leadership ignored the harsh reality of their failures. However, no amount of PR spin or legal strategy was able to erase the fact that MSU harbored a predator for decades, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. For the university, they didn’t seem to be concerned with a moral reckoning but instead were focused on a PR disaster they were desperate to control.

Pivoting to PR again.

Even in the final stages, as sexual assault victims delivered their emotional impact statements, MSU was still strategizing pushback, with Trustee Dianne Byrum urging the university to issue public responses and “pivot to more offense.”

While MSU may have “won” in the sense that they avoided a larger financial blow, the cost of this war to the university’s image, and more importantly the cost paid by the survivors, is incalculable.