Ex-Michigan St. Staffer: Mark Dantonio Ignored Warnings About Auston Robertson

Former Michigan State recruiting director Curtis Blackwell testified that Spartans coach Mark Dantonio ignored signs of troubling behavior from former defensive end Auston Robertson, who sexually assaulted a woman on campus in 2017.

Blackwell said Spartans defensive tackles coach Ron Burton told Dantonio he did not want Robertson on the same campus as his daughter, per a deposition obtained by Dan Murphy of ESPN. According to Blackwell, quarterbacks coach Dave Warner also spoke to people at Robertson's school and "couldn't really find anybody that could say anything good about Auston."

"An innocent young lady was raped because of a decision ... I got blamed," Blackwell said. "It became Curtis Blackwell's decision to bring Auston Robertson to campus, when we all know the head coach made the decision to bring him on. He overrode everyone else to bring him on campus."

Blackwell's testimony came as part of a wrongful termination and unlawful arrest lawsuit he filed against Dantonio, former athletic director Mark Hollis, former university president Lou Anna Simon and two university police officers. The suit says Blackwell was made the scapegoat after an investigation into sexual assaults among football players at Michigan State in 2017.

Blackwell was arrested for obstruction of a police investigation regarding his failure to report sexual assault allegations against Donnie Corley, Demetric Vance and Josh King but was never formally charged. Jones Day law firm found that Blackwell broke school policy by not reporting his knowledge of the alleged sexual assault. The three players later pleaded guilty to reduced charges.

Robertson was arrested during the Jones Day investigation and pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a teammate's girlfriend. He was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

The Jones Day investigation did not include the allegations against Robertson. The firm found no wrongdoing from Dantonio or any other member of the coaching staff, but Murphy notes numerous other police reports were not included in the investigation. Blackwell said Dantonio "had a way of making things disappear."

"If you are a high recruit or you were a good player, he would allow those individuals to get away with different things," Blackwell said. "And so because of that, Coach Dantonio had a way of making things disappear."

Dantonio has denied any improper handling of a sexual assault allegation among his players.