Michigan State Campus Rally Calls for Resignation of John Engler, Trustees

More than 100 people showed up at a protest at Michigan State University on Friday night to call for the resignation of interim president John Engler and the school's board of trustees, according to ESPN's Dan Murphy.

Engler—an ex-governor of Michigan—was named interim president back in January after Lou Anna K. Simon resigned from the position in the fallout of the Larry Nassar sexual assault case. Nassar has been sentenced up to 175 years in prison.

According to Murphy, Engler has come under fire for his actions regarding gymnast Kaylee Lorincz during a public board meeting last week. Lorincz said she had been offered money in order to settle her lawsuit with the university.

During the meeting, the 18-year-old gymnast was allegedly warned to "be careful" by Engler and eventually told she was out of time. That angered the courtroom, leading some behind Lorincz to yell for her to be allowed to finish.

WXYZ-TV Detroit provided video of the tense meeting:

That led to Friday night's rally on the East Lansing campus.

"Engler berated and threatened Kaylee in front of cameras, in front of protesters and in front of the entire university," Nassar survivor Morgan McCaul said, per Murphy. "We realized we had to come together to make our voices heard, because one voice wasn't enough. This is bigger than just the Larry Nassar case. This penetrates every level for the MSU administration."

As Cheyna Roth of MichiganRadio.org noted, some students and faculty protested the decision to appoint Engler as interim president to begin with, citing the politician's lack of academic leadership experience.