Andre Rison tells ESPN he was struck by Michigan State assistant coach as a player

Former All-American wide receiver Andre Rison said he was struck by an assistant coach during his college playing days at Michigan State.

Rison, who won a Rose Bowl with the Spartans and went on to become an All-Pro in the NFL, told ESPN that then-assistant coach Carl "Buck" Nystrom struck him in the locker room before a game at Illinois on Oct. 18, 1986.

“When the coach slapped me, the whole room got silent and Mark Ingram Sr. put his arm around me,” Rison told ESPN. “I shed a tear. I had never been struck by a grown man. Not by my grandfather, not by my father — who wasn't in my life a lot — but I just had never been struck by any man, and then I had never been struck by a white man for sure. For a long time, I just held it in.”

Rison, who was inducted into Michigan State’s Hall of Fame in 2015, was a standout for George Perles’ teams in the late 1980s, culminating with a Big Ten championship and win over Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl following the 1988 season.

Rison also played basketball for a short time at Michigan State and competed in indoor track, but said he thought the way he was treated was simply part of the process to make it to the next level.

“Back then you just thought it was part of being tough and being a football player that wanted to make it to the National Football League,” Rison said, “but ultimately change the living situations of my mom, brother, sisters and family.”

Nystrom was an All-American player at Michigan State in the 1950s and spent several years as an assistant for his alma mater.

Representatives for Michigan State did not respond to requests for comment on the story.

Rison said not many people knew of the incident.

“That man had no right to hit me,” Rison said. “I never told my mom. I never told anybody. The only people that really knew were our whole team and all the coaches. Nick Saban was on that staff. He was one of the ones that came to me and consulted me. That's why I respect him to this day.”

Rison also told ESPN that he doesn’t feel welcome on Michigan State’s campus anymore, despite being a member of the school’s hall of fame.

Andre Rison’s son, Hunter, was a freshman wide receiver at Michigan State in 2017 and despite catching 18 passes for 223 yards, he opted to transfer. At the time, Andre Rison said it was because of a lack of playing time, saying his son was better than those playing ahead of him and that there was so point wasting a season on the bench.

Hunter Rison transferred to Kansas State but was suspended indefinitely in April following an arrest for an alleged domestic battery incident. Last June, Hunter Rison announced he was transferring to Fullerton College in California, where he had 36 catches for 604 yards and seven touchdowns in seven games in 2019.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau