U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says her agency is investigating the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal and will hold Michigan State University accountable for any violations of federal law.
DeVos confirmed the investigation Friday. The announcement comes as Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis says he's stepping down in the wake of the Nassar scandal. Hollis has been in the job for 10 years.
Nassar is accused of molesting dozens of women and girls for years. He worked for Michigan State and USA Gymnastics. He's been sentenced to decades in prison.
DeVos said in a statement that what happened at the school is "abhorrent" and "cannot happen ever again — there or anywhere."
The Education Department already has been investigating separate Title IX complaints at the university and the school's compliance with providing campus crime and security information.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has begun an investigation of sexual abuse in organized sports.
Committee leaders from both political parties have sent letters to the U.S. Olympic Committee, Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics seeking information about how they handled sexual abuse allegations against disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar. The letters follow the sentencing of Nassar for molesting women and girls under the guise of medical treatment.
Nassar worked for Michigan State and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. The committee's investigation comes as Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis announced his retirement Friday. He's the second university official to step down this week. At USA Gymnastics, three top members of the board of directors resigned this month.
The House committee's letter to USA Gymnastics says the Nassar allegations "raise serious concerns about your organization's ability to oversee your sport and protect your athletes from abuse and mistreatment."
The committee also sent letters to USA Swimming and USA Taekwondo seeking information about how those organizations handled allegations of sexual misconduct.
