Astonishingly, the NCAA cleared Michigan State University of charges of mishandling Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing students. Several athletes, former and present, said they had gone to authority figures on campus but their complaints were not taken seriously.

One of the biggest issues of the announcement was it followed the arraignment of MSU’s former gymnastics coach, Kathie Lages, on two counts of lying to the police about complaints she had received about Nassar. Lages had been aware of at least some of the abuse Nassar had put her gymnasts through and had discouraged any further reporting.

The NCAA also did not speak with all those who were involved before making the decision, which may have been that they believed they already had the full story and understanding, but also mutes the voices of those who were already told they were not allowed to speak about their experiences. The resources and people were there and willing to talk, so it seems odd they would not be included in the investigation.

This situation brings up questions about whether athletes and those involved within the programs are given different treatment in situations such as these. Despite the NCAA clearing MSU, there are still issues that are going unaddressed. The abuse of and by athletes appears to have been swept under the rug in order to keep the prestige of the program as well as prevent any scandals from ruining the reputation of the school as a whole.

An athlete going to their own coach should mean the person they are talking to is someone with whom they have a close relationship and has their best interests at heart. However, much of sports tends to fall around protecting reputations, especially around something as awful as sexual abuse, instead of going after the problem.

In 2010, accusations involving Travis Walton, who was a former player and coach, were also mishandled. When the women went to then-athletic director Mark Hollis, as well as others within the department, Hollis claimed he was going to conduct an investigation of his own, but nothing became of it. MSU recently said it would have handle the situation differently if it were to occur today, but this just leaves us wondering why it did not before.

Sports in general tend to have issues staying away from those with shady pasts, brushing it aside in order to obtain more money and avoid the scandals that follow people discovering what has occurred. It is as if being athletic allows certain people to be untouchable, even when they prey on those who are also part of this sphere. The Brookings Institute writer Jon Valant refered to this as “the dangers of tribalism and callousness within college sports.”

Valant wrote, “Enamored with the potential to win, fans avert their eyes from ugliness in their favorite programs and lash out at those who expose it. The result is that today’s premier college sports programs are largely composed of, and surrounded by, individuals with little incentive to uncover or address misconduct. Too often, those individuals have chosen to protect their programs before they protect victims of their programs’ abuse.”

These victims of the abuse are ignored even when they are part of the program, begging to question whether the outside victims are even considered. The continued forgiveness allows abusers to find a place within these circles, where they will be protected no matter how much they hurt others.

Along with the mishandling of allegations at MSU, many other big-name schools are dropping the ball when it comes to handling these situations. It takes a reform of the process in which the NCAA comes to its conclusions and the culture surrounding sports. Those involved with athletics should not be exempt from the basic standards of being decent human beings.

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