Michigan State Reinstates Linebacker Who Called His Teammate The N-Word

Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio confirmed during today’s Big Ten Media Day that linebacker Jon Reschke, who left the program in February 2017, has been reinstated. Reschke, a starter in his 2015 sophomore year who missed most of 2016 due to an injury, apologized at the time of his departure because, in his words, “In an argument and a brief moment of anger, I lost control of my emotions and made an insensitive and totally regrettable comment involving a former teammate.”

Rumors that Reschke had called that teammate a racial epithet were confirmed today by the . Reporter Chris Solari is annoyingly vague about the specific wording of the offending text he obtained, but here’s what his report says:

“Honestly don’t know who for sure but probably (teammate’s name redacted) or another s****y f*****g (N-word) with no morals,” Reschke wrote in an undated text message obtained via screenshot by the Free Press.

The text listed Reschke’s phone number as the sender and had the responses scribbled out. A former MSU teammate, who requested anonymity and did not provide the text, confirmed its contents and said the conversation involved a female acquaintance of Reschke’s.

Dantonio said he had spoken to his team about Reschke’s reinstatement (which comes without a scholarship), and that the players “see no problems with that.” The coach also emphasized the trials that Reschke has been through in recent years, because according to Dantonio, he has “paid the ultimate price” that someone can pay for calling his teammate the N-word: a year without football.

[ Detroit Free Press]