(WXYZ) — A photo in a new court filing shows MSU coach Mark Dantonio and Curtis Blackwell visiting the recruit at his home in 2015, allegedly contradicting Dantonio's sworn testimony.
The filing Tuesday is part of Blackwell's wrongful termination lawsuit against Michigan State University.
In a video of Dantonio's sworn deposition from January, a lawyer for Blackwell asks, "Do you recall occasions where you and Curtis Blackwell went on off-campus recruiting visits?"
Dantonio responded: "As you said earlier, he would drive me at times or I would drive him. One of the two. Then he would sit in the car while I went into the school.”
"Did he ever go with you to visit any recruits at their homes?" the lawyer asked.
"No," Dantonio responded.
"Would that have been a violation of NCAA rules?" the lawyer responded?
"Yes," Dantonio said.
The photo from 2015 shows Dantonio and Blackwell, as well as other coaches, with Daelin Hayes, a five-star recruit. NCAA rules prohibit non-coaches from attending off-campus recruiting trips.
In an affidavit also filed Tuesday, La Keisha Neal, Daelin's mother, said under oath that Dantonio visited her home on Dec. 7, 2015, to try and recruit Daelin to attend MSU. With Dantonio were Harlon Barnett, Mike Tressel, and Curtis Blackwell, according to La Keisha's deposition.
"I can say without absolute certainty that Curtis Blackwell was in my home with MSU Head Football Coach Mark Dantonio and the other MSU football coaches during my son's official recruiting visit on Dec. 7, 2015," her testimony reads.
“We are aware of the allegations made by Curtis Blackwell as part of his litigation. As with any allegation concerning NCAA compliance, MSU is investigating and working with the NCAA and Big Ten. We have fully complied with our self-reporting obligations to the NCAA throughout this case," a spokesperson for Michigan State Athletics tells 7 Action News.
Blackwell's lawsuit
Blackwell has filed a wrongful termination suit against MSU alleging his contract with MSU wasn’t renewed in 2017 after he was arrested and suspended following a sexual assault scandal on the football team. Blackwell was never charged with a crime, but an investigation found he violated policy by not immediately reporting what he learned about allegations of sexual abuse and three star players.
Blackwell says he was made a scapegoat for the scandal. Dantonio denies that it played any role in not renewing his contract. Instead, Dantonio cited "friction" and "a disconnect" that led him to decide to part ways with Blackwell.
While Dantonio’s complete, five-hour deposition transcript is under seal, portions of it have been released.
In it, Dantonio revealed that he told Blackwell he was being let go by phone while Dantonio was on a train in Italy. He said the conversation last only two or three minutes, and that he did most of the talking.
“(T)here were issues, as ai said, there was a disconnect,” Dantonio said, adding later on: “…whether you want to call it friction, hostility, workplace environment, attention to detail, disconnect, accountability, structure to some degree, all came into question.”
Part of the motivation to move on from Blackwell, according to Dantonio, was a recent change in NCAA rule ending satellite camps, like one that Blackwell had run for years. The rule change, Dantonio said, made him less effective as a recruiter. Other pressures to make a decision, he said, was that former NFL executive Sheldon White was
Attorneys for Blackwell are trying to secure another 65 minutes to continue Dantonio’s deposition. It was ended prematurely, they say, when the court where it was being conducted closed at 5pm.
In his deposition from 2019, Blackwell alleges that Dantonio chose to bring in MSU recruit Auston Robertson in 2016 despite a history of sexual assault allegations and concerns within his own staff.
