A company spokesperson declined to say if Auto-Owners would continue sponsoring MSUtwitter
Auto-Owners Insurance, one of the Michigan State athletic department’s "most-visible sponsors," requested the "removal of its logo from the backdrop used at MSU press conferences amid the wave of negative publicity surrounding the university," according to Tony Paul of the DETROIT NEWS. Auto-Owners spokesperson Trevor Mahoney said that his company "didn’t want its branding in the backdrop at Friday’s press conferences at Breslin Center." MSU football coach Mark Dantonio "spoke before the men’s basketball game and basketball coach Tom Izzo spoke after the game against Wisconsin, both standing in front of a green backdrop with no sponsorships." Mahoney declined to say "whether Auto-Owners Insurance would continue supporting Michigan State athletics." Auto-Owners is "one of eight partners/sponsors listed" on MSU's athletics website. None of the sponsors "would confirm any changes or terminations of agreements, but several expressed concerns" (DETROIT NEWS, 1/31).
THE NEXT STEP: USA TODAY's Lindsay Schnell writes the longer Izzo stays silent about a ESPN report alleging sexual abuse and violence within the basketball program, the "worse he looks." It seems "pretty obvious" the school's general council is "telling Izzo to keep quiet." Schnell: "I also think, based on his body language, that he doesn’t want to do that. His program is being dragged through the mud, and he’d probably like to defend it." Izzo is "bigger than the university and if he has to defy university lawyers ... in order to speak, so be it." Schnell: "He is the face of Michigan State. He needs to talk." He "can start" tonight following the team's game against Penn State (USATODAY.com, 1/31). ESPN's Mina Kimes said Izzo's "response so far has been widely insufficient," as the story is "no longer just about assault, it's about enabling." ESPN's Clinton Yates said if Izzo and Dantonio are "going to be part of the solution that you claim you want to do, you've got to right upfront about it." Izzo is not "doing that so far" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 1/29). However, ESPN's Jay Bilas said, "Izzo is answering the questions he is receiving the way ... anyone who has had legal advice would answer them." He added, "I don't know any lawyer who would advise a client in a similar position to answer all these questions in a post-game press conference. Frankly, it's just not the appropriate venue given the investigations going on." Bilas said Izzo is "doing the right thing in cooperating fully with the investigation because there is nothing he can explain in a press conference that's going to forward things" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 1/29).
