State News reporting football players involved in campus fight

Submitted by Geaux_Blue on

The (illegal) hits keep coming for MSU:

http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2009/11/police_mum_regarding…

Highlights

Police mum regarding Rather Hall altercation
By Brittany Shammas

Police and university officials were tight-lipped Monday about what witnesses have described as a multiple-person assault that happened at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday in the Rather Hall lounge.

Witnesses and students involved in the incident said a group of 15 to 20 men, who some described as MSU football players, stormed into the dormitory and hit and injured about seven students, some of them women.

Brent Mitchell, a communication junior who said he was sent to Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital after being punched in the face, said some of the men wore ski masks, but others were recognized as football team members.

“I walked up and said, ‘It isn’t worth it.’ A guy with dreadlocks hit me and in the scuffle slapped, hit females to get them out of the way,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said members of his fraternity, Iota Phi Theta, had just finished a potluck event and were folding chairs in the lounge when the men entered. The men said they were looking for a man who had been involved in a spat with one of them the night before during an Iota Phi Theta event at The Small Planet, 16800 Chandler Road, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he was struck after the men realized the person they sought wasn’t there. He said the altercation lasted for about a minute before the men left.

Mechanical engineering sophomore Andrew Green said he saw one of the men hit another student on his way out.

“He was coming downstairs and looked at him and punched him in the jaw,” Green said.

sexy. also, fwiw, the comments below have some joy within.

4godkingandwol…

November 24th, 2009 at 2:23 AM ^

I'm not trying to weigh the weight of our glass vs their glass, I'm just interested in the media coverage. Also, if they're bowl bound, should be interesting to see if Dantonio reprimands them at all.

ijohnb

November 24th, 2009 at 7:35 AM ^

monumental senior-day ass kicking they received on Saturday and that is a pretty bad weekend. Nice breakout year Sparty, way to cement yourself as the in-state power. 6-6. Awesome, there is a new sheriff in town I guess.

ijohnb

November 24th, 2009 at 9:00 AM ^

You would have thought Michigan State was a national championship contender at the beginning of this season. With as much glee as Spartan fan is having in our struggles, I find it perfectly acceptable to bash Sparty when and where ever possible. Michigan State beat a rebulding-depleted Michigan team with an injured-freshman QB, at home, in a must win, in frickin overtime. Not all that impressed. The in-state and national media chose to focus more on RR's presser than MSU getting humiliated at home in their finale. That's bullshit. Here's to holding Michigan State to the same standard as Michigan if they want to be included in the conversation.

Blue in Yarmouth

November 24th, 2009 at 10:32 AM ^

I'm not saying not to bash state. What I am saying is that you picked a fight you can't win.

Seriously, you sound like one of those "homers" who ignores reality and just spouts stuff off that makes no sense. UM fans shouldn't be pointing at M-State's record and laughing at it, theirs is better than ours.

We shouldn't be laughing about "in-state" prowess when they beat us. Saying "they beat a rebuilding UM team" carries no weight, they beat us, plain and simple and none of your excuses matter.

There are plenty of reasons to make fun of the spartans (there was probably a thread with "100 things to hate about sparty" or something). Pick one that doesn't make you look like a hypocritical ass when you bring it up.

Try the couch burning, that seems to have gotten a lot of mileage.

Seriously though, no offense to you. I am just saying that in the instances you have brought up, we have no right to laugh and point fingers. I would change records with them in a heart beat.

ijohnb

November 24th, 2009 at 11:55 AM ^

I am just saying that Michigan State sucked this year. They beat Michigan, fine. Michigan was not good this year, either. So what? How does that make me a hypocritical ass? Michigan State(fans) thought they were going to be good. I thought they were going to suck. Turns out they suck, and I think that is funny. I also believe that they will suck, again, next year, and that they will continue to suck, and that will be even more-awesomer. :)

Blue in Yarmouth

November 24th, 2009 at 2:21 PM ^

You know what a hypocrit is right? Because you defined how that makes you a hypocrit in your post.

You might feel comfortable laughing and pointing at other fan bases because they were not as good as advertised this year (even though they still beat us and had a better overall record) but I am not.

The reason I don't feel comfortable doing it is because when said fan base brings up that point, it makes me look like an ass and I am forced to defend my position with statements like "we are young" or "we were injured" or "we should have won" none of witch is a noteworthy defense for those actions.

If you don't mind being that type of fan, that's fine. I am simply saying I wouldn't.

bronxblue

November 24th, 2009 at 2:30 PM ^

I do think that beating a rebuilding team with an injured freshman QB, on the road, in overtime is not as monumental of a victory as, say, beating the team in 2-3 years. Listen, when I was at MSU and they were struggling toward the end of the John L. era, none of my fellow UM alums/friends thought it was a big victory for UM when they beat Sparty. Sparty was clearly a team with some problems and beating them was expected. I think the same mindset applies now; Sparty is a better team than UM but it doesn't feel like an historical dominance; it feels like a minor blip. Next year, if MSU beats UM at home and there isn't some crazy reason (such as UM starting its 3rd-string QB or half the team goes down with mono), then that is a win MSU can hang its hat on. But beating the two worst teams in UM's history transitioning through a massive shift in the program's direction is not as impressive as some have made it out to be.

And for the record, they have exactly 1 more win than UM - they won the head-to-head matchup. That is a win and they should be proud, but they also were lucky to bypass the top team in the Big 10 this year. Switch NW with OSU, they would have likely had the same record as UM.

Blue in Yarmouth

November 24th, 2009 at 2:59 PM ^

Honestly, enough with the excuses and rationale for all the losses we have. They beat us, and I don't care if we had Mary Sue Coleman playing QB because all our other QB's got injured, that is the reality of the situation.

As an adult, I have a hard time making fun of another team, person, institution or anything else that has beaten me this season and ended with a better record. Excuses are for children and all the rationale in the world won't change the fact that we lost and they have an overall better record.

bronxblue

November 24th, 2009 at 3:17 PM ^

I wasn't justifying anything. They did beat UM; that's great for them. But just because a team beat you doesn't mean you cannot comment on its problems. Notre Dame is going to finish with a better record than UM, but UM did beat them. Am I allowed to comment on the fact that after 5 years with a "great" coach, they are basically where they were when the fired Willingham, which is the same place they were after firing Davies?

Honestly, I think this story stands on its own merits - replace MSU with, I don't know, Maryland, and it is still a weird story about a bunch of players who thought it was a good idea to punch students in the face while looking to beat up somebody else. And as a Sparty, it bugs me to see this in the news - this is not the first time members of the football team have been guilty of some rather violent behavior off the field. Between 2004 and 2007 (when I was in EL), there were at least 3 major instances of football players acting criminally, including one instance in which a bunch of them attacked partygoers at one of the student apartments on Hagadorn (?) and put a kid in the hospital.

Listen, everywhere I go the only two things people know MSU for is (a) being good at basketball, and (b) rioting at the drop of a hat. I tell people I went to UM and they are always really positive - good school, nice campus, etc. I mention MSU for grad school, and half the people think I am referring to UM. Now, I live on the East Coast so that might have something to do with it, but when incidents like this occur, it doesn't help the school's reputation. And for a school (and a football team) that professes to be a leader in the state and one that should be taken seriously, incidents like this really don't help.

dahblue

November 24th, 2009 at 6:50 AM ^

It doesn't take a genius to know that nothing good ever comes out of a potluck dinner. C'mon, this is the classic story we hear over and over again about a potluck dinner ending in violence. Why would anyone be surprised?

bacon

November 24th, 2009 at 7:05 AM ^

I'm just glad that for once this week that the bad news doesn't involve our team. I'm sure that even if these guys are arrested and serve time, they'll still start next year.

BigBum

November 24th, 2009 at 8:14 AM ^

The article failed to mentioned that the "masked avengers" struck a match and threw it on the couch as they were leaving. Thus symbolizing victory over Iota Phi Theta.

gnarles woodson

November 24th, 2009 at 9:53 AM ^

When is the local media going to start calling out Dantonio for not handling things like this better? RichRod has kicked players off the team and he still gets shit thrown at him because he should have "known" what type of guy he was recruiting. Dantonio gets praised for giving second chances....it is ridiculous.

lhglrkwg

November 24th, 2009 at 10:28 AM ^

Reality
10 hours ago

If you ever find yourself being attacked by an MSU football player, just yell “Wheel Route” and you’ll quickly find yourself being left all alone.

Geaux_Blue

November 24th, 2009 at 10:30 AM ^

i wonder if any members of the media will have the balls to ask if Dantonio has lost control of the team. how scared of your coach and/or repercussions are you to recreate, almost to the day, the incident that got a player arrested in the same exact fashion as before? are we to assume they learned the lesson is "don't get caught" (hence ski masks) instead of, you know, living your life virtuous and kind?