This is very troubling

With the Larry Nassar/gymnastics/MSU scandal, I've succumbed to something of a guilty pleasure; Jacob Denhollander's (Rachael's husband's) Twitter feed.  He's got quite a sense of humor through all this (deleted), but on the flip side, he says, and links, some things that really are thought provoking, some of them ugly.


This is one of the ugly things, courtesy of Matt Mencarini of the Lansing State Journal; apparently my alma mater is using the same kind of "scorched earth" tactics used by MSU Trustee Dan Kelly to work against the lawsuits coming forward against the university.  I don't know (or want to know)specifics, but I suspect that what Denhollander, Lemke, and Lorincz are objecting to is the same thing that Denhollander experienced when she came forward with her allegations against Larry Nassar; private investigators finding, and publishing, every silly or foolish thing the victims have done in their lives, and possibly quite a few made up and embarrassing things that they've not done. 


There is, indeed, a legitimate place for establishing credibility, but I would dare suggest that MSU's lawyers are crossing a not-so-subtle line between legitimate defense and vindictiveness.  The question here is not whether they did something foolish in high school or college that they might not want the whole world to know, but rather whether they are a credible witness to their abuse, and whether MSU's actions contributed to that situation, period.


I would dare suggest that if I'm reading things correctly, yes, I'd support disciplinary action against those participating. 


Update: here is an article about Dan Kelly's tactics, which include attempting to reveal the names of victims during a molestation trial.