7 Michigan State University football players charged after altercation with University of Michigan athletes last month
By Rob Frehse, CNN
Seven Michigan State football players have been charged after a scuffle in a stadium tunnel with University of Michigan players moments after their game more than three weeks ago, according to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office.
CNN is in the process of reaching out to the players for comment and has reached out to Michigan State and the Big Ten Conference for comment.
The president of the University of Michigan said he was grateful to the prosecutor’s office for their investigation.
“At the University of Michigan we appreciate the thoughtful, deliberate approach from the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office to this unfortunate incident,” school President Santa J. Ono said in a statement to CNN. “We also want to express our concern for all the players involved, especially those who were injured,” he added. “The University of Michigan will continue to cooperate fully with any additional reviews of this matter.”
A video posted on Twitter from The Detroit News showed several Spartan players in an altercation with a Wolverine player in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
At the time, Michigan football Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said two of his players were “assaulted,” and one of them may have a broken nose.
“I saw the one video, the 10 on one, it’s … pretty bad,” Harbaugh said.
“What happened after the game is completely unacceptable,” Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel said.
Michigan State Vice President and Athletics Director Alan Haller previously called the evidence “alarming,” adding that “the behavior we reviewed was both uncharacteristic of our football program and unacceptable.”
School police from both universities and the Michigan State Police jointly investigated the incident, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Attorney Mike Nichols, who represents one of the players charged with one count of felonious assault, Khary “KJ” Crump, said they “don’t want to try this case in the media, we plan to try it in the court.”
Nichols added, “This was a gut-punch to KJ, being charged the day before Thanksgiving and he’s going to get through it.”
Attorney David Diamond and his client, Michigan State player Angelo Grose, who is charged with one count of aggravated assault, are “disappointed in the decision to file criminal charges,” he told CNN in a statement.
“The Michigan Penal Code for aggravated assault requires infliction of serious or aggravated injury. We do not know the true extent of the Michigan player’s injuries and who, if any of the 7, actually and directly caused them, which is the definition of reasonable doubt,” Diamond said.
The cross-state schools have had a storied rivalry for generations. Michigan had defeated Michigan State 29-7 before the scuffle on October 29.
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CNN’s Wayne Sterling, Bonney Kapp, Liam Reilly, Holly Yan and David Close contributed to this alert
