The lede in this newly-published story tells it all:
EAST LANSING — Documents obtained by Michigan Messenger show two high-profile Michigan State University basketball players have been accused of committing sexual assault on campus in August. Despite the allegations, prosecutors have declined to take up the case, and the victim disputes the reasons offered for not bringing charges.
The heavily redacted police report released by Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III alleges the two team members took turns assaulting an unidentified woman for nearly an hour in their Wonders Hall dormitory room late on Aug. 29 and into Aug. 30.
The police report indicates that one of the two players corroborated the victim’s story in his statement to police. Although the MSU Police Department forwarded the report to the prosecutor’s office with a recommendation that the men be charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct 1 — the most serious level of sexual assault under state law — Dunnings has declined to prosecute the case.
You should go and read the entire thing now, if only to familiarize yourself with the facts of a story that will no doubt receive plenty of attention in the coming weeks and months. Deplorable and depraved doesn't begin to describe the alleged behavior, and while the Ingham County prosecutor may have declined to press charges for the time being, the cat's clearly out of the bag on this one. The fracas at Rather Hall seems petty and minor by comparison.
We'll leave the comments open on this post, with the caveat that all comments speculating as to the identity of the two players will be deleted, and the authors of those comments will be warned. We've been very careful to avoid fanning rumors here at TOC, and that policy will continue.
[EDIT: Also, please don’t speculate as to the actions or comparative fault of the victim. She’s called the victim for a reason.]
As for me: I can't begin to express the disappointment I felt upon reading the story. This type of behavior [edit: if the allegations are true, obviously] tests my will to be a fan.