ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Michigan State coach Tom Izzo forcefully defended his handling of a series of sexual and physical assault allegations made against his players in recent years while also pushing back against media coverage of him and his program.

"The thought that I was going to hide something like what happened makes me sick," Izzo said. "The thought of that makes me sick. It's never been, it never was. That was the big complaint on me and (Mark) Dantonio and (Mark) Hollis. It was never hidden and it never will be hidden."

During an at times heated hour-long session with reporters on Thursday at Big Ten media day near Chicago, Izzo spoke at length for the first time about allegations made against him and his program, primarily in a January report from ESPN.

That report detailed Izzo's handling of two sexual assault allegations made against players and claimed that one was not properly reported against school authorities. It also detailed a misdemeanor physical assault allegation made against student assistant Travis Walton in early 2010.

No criminal charges were filed in any of the sexual assault cases, and Walton's misdemeanor assault charge was later reduced to littering.

On Thursday, Izzo repeatedly said he followed all school policies in regards to the incidents, and cited multiple investigations, including one by the NCAA, that did not find any wrongdoing.

"The procedures and policies were followed to the Nth degree," Izzo said, while allowing that the question of whether he could have gone beyond what was required of him by school policy is "up for everybody's debate."

He also for the first time since January addressed specific allegations made in the report. Asked specifically why Walton was allowed to remain a part of the team while being investigated for allegedly punching a woman at an East Lansing bar, Izzo said he wasn't made aware of the allegation during the 2009-10 season. Izzo also said Walton did not live in his house at any time during the year, as had been previously reported.

Izzo also for the first time spoke about a federal lawsuit filed in April that claims three then-Michigan State basketball players raped a woman in 2015. He said he had no knowledge of the incident at the time. The allegation was not reported to police, and the lawsuit is still in the court system.

Izzo on Thursday also defended his decision to limit his comments over the past eight months.

"It's easy to say 'Well, you could have talked.' I couldn't talk," Izzo said. "I wasn't winning that battle, there was no battle to win. The one time I did, I said the same thing that I said four months later and I said the same thing after the NCAA investigation. It was all the same."

Asked if he would handle anything differently now, Izzo said that he would -- not because he believes he handled them wrong at the time but because he said all aspects of sexual assault are treated differently now than they were years ago.

Going forward, Izzo said he expects any "serious allegation" made against a player to result in an immediate suspension. That decision, he said, has been made by the "court of public opinion," while expressing his preference for relying on police investigations in determining punishments.

"The police do investigations, they're found guilty or not guilty, that's the way the world works," Izzo said. "Today it's a different story."

He also defended his record over 23 years as a head coach in meting out player punishment and suggested that record doesn't square with allegations that he didn't properly punish players for sexual assault allegations.

"I've kicked kids off for drugs, I've kicked kids off for bad academics. I'm not going to kick somebody off for sexual assault? That's insulting. That's insulting to me," Izzo said.

Izzo also criticized what he called his own lack of due process from the media. He called a graphic aired by ESPN that depicted him and Dantonio alongside former Michigan State doctor Larry Nassar "a picture that will go down for the rest of my life as the lowest part of my life."

He also restated his mission to help the healing process of sexual abuse victims of Nassar.

"It's been a tough eight, nine months for many, many many people," Izzo said. "Time doesn't heal, time helps heal and learning helps heal. So I'm going to use those things, time and what I've learned and try to help heal."