Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis resigns

Mark Hollis, the Michigan State University athletic director, has resigned from his position. His resignation comes as a result of the Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal that has shaken the university and the lives of hundreds of individuals.

Nassar, now 54, was a doctor at Michigan State who sexually assaulted hundreds of patients under the guise of medical treatment. He was sentenced to between 40 and 175 years in state prison by Judge Rosemarie Aquilina as a result of these acts. She claimed it was her "privilege" to sign his "death warrant".

Hollis becomes the latest Michigan State University official to resign as a result of this scandal. Lou Anna Simon, the president of the university, resigned from her position on Wednesday as the pressure for her to do so continued to mount and eventually reached an all-time high.

Hollis, who was appointed as Michigan State's athletic director in 2008, had this to say about his decision to resign, according to ESPN. He insisted that he was not running away from something, but rather running toward something.

"It's been an absolute honor to guide the Athletic Department for the last decade. That being said, today I am announcing my retirement.This was not an easy decision for my family, and you should not jump to any conclusions based on our decision -- listen to facts. I am not running away from anything, I am running toward something. Comfort, compassion and understanding for the survivors and our community; togetherness, time and love for my family."

The university released a statement saying that Hollis, who began working for the school's athletic department in the year 1995, will retire on Wednesday, January 31st.

No one has alleged that Hollis was aware about Nassar's assault prior to when he was finally arrested in 2016 after nearly two decades of committing sexual assault at Michigan State's sport clinic. However, several women have claimed that they did alert university officials about Nassar, and nothing happened as a result of this.

Hollis has made clear that even in retirement, he is willing to cooperate with investigations of the school. He also stated that the school needs to focus on the "healing of the survivors and the entire community."

Many other Michigan State administrators have been encouraged to resign recently as a result of the seven-day sentencing hearing that took place for Nassar during which impact statements from 169 people who claimed Nassar assaulted them were read.