Lawsuit: Nassar Rape Claim Dropped After MSU Athletic Director Intervened

A woman has filed a lawsuit claiming that she was drugged and raped by disgraced doctor Larry Nassar during a medical appointment in 1992, according to The Lansing State Journal. The suit says that Erika Davis—a field hockey player at Michigan State University—told her coach, Martha Ludwig, about the incident, which was videotaped. Ludwig then allegedly confronted Nassar, demanding he give the tape to her. George Perles, a former MSU athletic director and current university trustee, then forced Ludwig to “return the video, resign and sign a non-disclosure agreement,” the lawsuit claims. Davis’ complaint was also dropped after Perles intervened, according to the documents. The lawsuit also says that Davis was impregnated by Nassar, but ultimately had a miscarriage. She later went to the MSU Police Department to file a complaint, but the officer allegedly told her that he was “powerless” to investigate anything that went on within the athletic department. MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant said in a statement that the school was “deeply sorry for the abuses Larry Nassar has committed” and said that the “protocols and procedures mentioned in this lawsuit do not reflect how sexual assault claims are handled at MSU.”