Monty Mack is averaging 19.5ppg thus far in 1998-99.
UMass photo
Monty Mack is averaging 19.5ppg thus far in 1998-99. UMass photo |
Judge W. Michael Ryan decided against filing any charge at a hearing in Northampton District Court.
A woman had complained to the court that Mack punched her and pushed her during a larger scuffle involving others on November 1. But some students testified Friday that Mack appeared to join in to break up the fight.
The judge said perhaps Mack was "overly aggressive." But he said it would be unfair for Mack to be "singled out when there were so many people involved in this ruckus."
The woman had asked the court to charge Mack with assault and battery. Mack did not testify.
Mack, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, had 15 points as the 23rd-ranked Minutemen lost 73-69 to St. John's on Wednesday.
NORTHAMPTON - A judge on Friday declined to charge University of Massachusetts basketball player Monty Mack with assaulting another student during a scuffle involving several students.
Northampton District Court Judge W. Michael Ryan heard testimony from a dozen or so students who were either involved in, or who witnessed, a fracas at a UMass dining commons on Nov. 1. Two dining hall employees who witnessed the fight also testified.
The testimony came during a show-cause hearing that Ryan opened to reporters after receiving a formal request. The hearings, which are designed to determine if enough evidence exists to bring a criminal charge against someone, are normally closed to the public.
"I don't think there's enough for a complaint,'' Ryan said at the end of the hearing, which lasted more than three hours.
The incident began with a fight between two women, including Mack's girlfriend, and escalated into a chaotic confrontation between two groups of women, testimony indicated.
UMass student Shruti Mulki, who witnessed the incident, said she saw several women fighting and hurling a stream of obscenities and threats.
"I thought, wow, a chick fight,'' she told the judge.
Some of Mack's teammates intervened, attempting to break up scuffles between the groups, explained Philip Cavanaugh, director of public safety for UMass.
The fight spilled over into a yard outside the dining hall. Mack was accused of punching UMass student Sinora Woods in the side of the head, then pushing her to the ground once they were outside.
Woods testified she sustained a bruise on her arm and a sprained wrist after Mack pulled her by the hair and threw her to the ground. She said she didn't initially seek medical attention.
Student Alice Brown said she saw Mack assume a fighting pose. Mack, she said, was "swinging his arms around with rage.''
"I was so shocked that it was a girl, and she was a foot shorter,'' Brown said.
Some students, however, testified that Mack never threw a punch at Woods. They said he and other basketball players tried to break up fights, and Mack only pushed Woods back when she was acting aggressively.
Both Woods and Mack declined to comment outside the courtroom. Mack did not testify during the hearing.
UMass basketball coach James "Bruiser" Flint, who was at the courthouse Friday, said it was unfortunate Mack was "singled out."
"What is important is that Monty understands that as a student-athlete he lives under a microscope, and everything he does will be magnified by the media and the public,'' Flint said in a statement issued by UMass. "Everyone on this team, including Monty, needs to understand that they have to be aware of slippery situations and they must be able to turn the other cheek, regardless of who is right or wrong.''
Woods wept as she was consoled by a friend following the hearing. She exited the courthouse with Northampton lawyer Harry Miles by her side. Miles declined to comment.
Ryan, the presiding justice in Northampton District Court, cleared Mack, but in a stern lecture from the bench, told some 25 students gathered for the proceeding that violence on campus has gotten out of control.
Ryan made a reference to a UMass student he sentenced to jail earlier in the day for brutally kicking another man outside a bar in Amherst.
During the hearing, Ryan heard evidence that some students assaulted others in the fight.
"I could issue nine or 10 complaints for assault and battery,'' Ryan said. "There doesn't seem to be any innocent parties here.''
Addressing Mack directly, Ryan said, "I think you were overly aggressive. I don't think it was necessary to push that woman down.''
But Ryan said Mack should not be "singled out when there were so many people involved in this ruckus.''
