Amid the ongoing scandal at Michigan State surrounding football coach Mel Tucker’s suspension due to allegations of sexual harassment, the state’s top elected official weighed in.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released a statement Monday evening saying she’s shocked and disappointed in developments over the last two days and called for more transparency from the university.

Whitmer earned a bachelor’s degree and law degree at Michigan State and was sexually assaulted while a student at the school. She publicly supports the Spartans and spoke to Tucker’s team in 2021 about the importance of voting.

Tucker is accused of sexual harassment by Brenda Tracy, a rape survivor and activist the coach brought in to educate the Michigan State football team about sexual assault. After being suspended by athletic director Alan Haller on Sunday, Tucker released a lengthy statement Monday afternoon calling the claims false.

“As a survivor, I’m shocked. As a Spartan, I’m disappointed. As Governor, I want answers,” Whitmer said in her statement. “I know the pain that so many feel when allegations like this come to light because I live it too. It’s retraumatizing. MSU holds a special place in so many of our hearts – which is what makes this hurt more.”

Haller said the university immediately hired an independent investigator to look into the complaint submitted by Tracy and he became aware of the situation in late December. He said the investigator submitted a report on July 25 with the recommendation for a formal hearing in October. A Michigan State spokesperson said university leaders, including Haller, were unaware of the details of the investigation until a lengthy USA TODAY report about the alleged harassment was published early Sunday morning.

“We deserve to know when the university knew about these allegations and why they made the decisions they did,” Whitmer said in the statement. “We need to ensure that one of our state’s flagship universities, one that carries so much weight around the world, is learning from the past and not recreating it.

“Spartans, survivors, and Michiganders – we deserve better.”

Michigan State improved to 2-0 last week and will host No. 8 Washington (2-0) on Saturday. Haller named longtime assistant Harlon Barnett as acting head coach and former head coach Mark Dantonio will return to the program as an associate head coach.