Mark Dantonio fighting back over claim deposition revealed NCAA violations

The lawsuit involving Mark Dantonio and a former Michigan State staffer continues to generate headlines.

According to MLive.com, ex-Spartans recruiting coordinator Curtis Blackwell has filed a motion to halt another deposition in his on-going lawsuit against MSU and several key figures in East Lansing. While that normally wouldn’t be eyebrow-raising at all, the reason he’s doing so is:

Included in the nine-page document filed by Blackwell’s attorneys is a note that states “Dantonio’s sworn deposition testimony may have revealed major NCAA violations that were committed by Defendant Dantonio and MSU. Additionally, it is also important to inform the Court that Defendant Dantonio may have committed perjury during his deposition.”

No further details were available on what Dantonio specifically said regarding the potential violations though the head coach, through his lawyer, strongly denied any accusations that he either committed perjury or committed any NCAA violations. Michigan State did already go through an NCAA infractions process regarding a Level III violation that was related to Blackwell’s time at the school but it’s not specified if this motion is related to that or another incident.

Dantonio was deposed in early January for nearly six hours regarding the increasingly testy case. Blackwell is suing the school, the head coach, former athletic director Mark Hollis and a number of others after claiming wrongful termination. At the heart of that matter is former player Auston Robertson and what the staff knew (or didn’t) regarding his background in high school before being arrested and charged with assault of his girlfriend at Michigan State.