Education

MSU Shells Out $500,000 To Monitor Larry Nassar’s Victims

No featured image available

Michigan State University(MSU) shelled out over $500,000 to monitor Larry Nassar’s victims, according to public relations company Weber Shandwick Friday.

Weber Shandwick was paid $517,343 by MSU to keep a close watch on the social media of Nassar’s victims, NPR reported. The firm worked alongside MSU’s Office of Communication and Brand Strategy to spend more than 1,440 hours gathering information on Nassar’s accusers.

“Aly Raisman tweeted that she will not be attending the sentencing because it is too traumatic for her, and her impact letter will be read in court (360 retweets; 6,000 likes),” one Weber Shandwick email reads to MSU school officials.

“As part of Weber Shandwick’s work providing communications counsel, the firm monitored media and social media conversations surrounding the university, which included posts from the survivors of the Larry Nassar case,” the PR firm’s director of global corporate communications Kimberly Dixon wrote in an email to the Lansing State Journal.

Weber Shandwick no longer works with MSU.

The Michigan State Attorney General is also requesting MSU officials’ other texts and emails to two athletic trainers aware of Nassar’s sexual abuse for 20 years. The two trainers were not fired, The Detroit Free Press reported Friday.

This is part of the attorney general’s office’s larger investigation over the alleged mishandling of Nassar while employed at MSU. The investigation already resulted in MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine former dean and Nassar’s boss William Stramphel getting arrested March 26. Stramphel allegedly had over 50 graphic images of MSU students on his work computer. He also owned a video of Nassar doing his fake medical treatments, which were stored on his work computer.

Nassar sexually abused over 200 girls and young women. He is currently spending life in prison.

Follow Gabrielle on Twitter
Send tips to gabrielle@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.