A clearer picture has emerged in Jon Reschke‘s muddled departure from Michigan State in February of 2017.
A couple of months after he stated it was a possibility, Mark Dantonio confirmed Tuesday at the Big Ten Media Days that Reschke is back on MSU’s roster. At the time of his departure two winters ago, Reschke wrote in a statement that, “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.”
According to the Detroit Free Press, Reschke’s “insensitive and totally regrettable comment” including dropping an N-bomb in a text message.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.
“I talked to our football team and our players and said, ‘Hey, if you guys want him back, then you have to bring him back,’” Dantonio said today according to the Free Press. “It has to be a decision made by our African-American players, led by them, and they have to support that.”
Reschke was expected to transfer to another football program after leaving MSU but never did, undergoing ACL surgery instead and sitting out the 2017 season. He received a sixth season of eligibility from the NCAA, which will allow him to play for the Spartans in 2018.
After starting all 14 games for the Spartans in 2015, Reschke started two of the first three during the 2016 season before an ankle injury knocked him out for the remainder of that year. The junior missed the 2016 season opener because of another injury.