ADLEY, Mass. (AP) - University of Massachusetts basketball star Monty Mack has been arrested on shoplifting charges.
Mack was arrested Thursday morning after leaving a Kmart store near the Amherst campus with seven DVD movies worth $159.93 hidden in his sweat pants, said Hadley police chief Dennis Huckowicz.
Huckowicz said Friday that Mack was stopped by store security and police were called.
A phone number for Mack could not immediately be determined and he could not be reached for comment.
Mack, 23, a point guard from Boston and three-year starter, led the team with 19.8 points a game last season.
The fifth-year student sat out his freshman year after failing to meet NCAA academic eligibility requirements, but gained a fourth year of playing eligibility, under NCAA rules, when he completed his degree in four years.
ADLEY � University of Massachusetts men's basketball star Monty Mack was arrested yesterday after a shoplifting incident at Kmart at the Hampshire Mall in Hadley.
Frederick S. Warren, director of security at the mall, said "a member of the UMass basketball team" was arrested. Hadley police confirmed that Mack was arrested for shoplifting and taken to Northampton District Court for arraignment. No other information was available.
The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. yesterday.
Warren said the basketball player was discovered by the store's loss prevention manager to have some kind of electronics equipment on him and hidden from view.
Warren said he was called in to assist, and Hadley police were called in to arrest the suspect.
Mack is entering his fifth year as a student at UMass and his fourth and final season of athletic eligibility. By graduating in four years last spring, he was allowed to regain a year of playing time he had lost as a freshman in 1996-97.
That year, Mack's academic status allowed him to practice with the team but not appear in games, in accordance with National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. He is on pace to finish his career as the No. 2 scorer in UMass history.
Last night, UMass coach Bruiser Flint said he had no knowledge of the incident.
"I don't know what to say, because no one has called or said anything to me. It's the first I've heard of it," Flint said. UMass opens practice a week from tonight with Midnight Madness.
In November 1998, Mack was charged with assault and battery after a fight broke out in a UMass dining common.
A woman claimed that Mack assaulted her during the fight, which began between two women and then grew to involve a dozen other people.
The charges were later dismissed during a Hampshire District Court show-cause hearing after the judge ruled there was no reason to single out Mack for his actions in a fight involving so many people.
ORTHAMPTON - University of Massachusetts basketball player Monty Mack pleaded innocent Thursday in Northampton District Court to a charge of shoplifting at Kmart in the Hampshire Mall.
The case was continued until Oct. 27 and Mack, 23, was released on his personal recognizance.
Hadley Police Chief Dennis Huckowicz said today that Mack was stopped at approximately 11 a.m. Thursday by Kmart security.
Responding to Kmart security, Hadley police said Mack had seven DVD movies worth $159.93 stuffed in his sweat pants as he tried to leave Kmart.
Mack is a senior from South Boston and is in his fifth year at UMass. He earned a bachelor's degree in the spring and is currently taking graduate classes to remain eligible to play basketball.
The charge caught the UMass coaching staff off guard. Coach Bruiser Flint was first informed of the situation at 7:50 p.m.
At 10:45 p.m., Flint declined to make a statement.
"I don't want to say anything until I have all the information," he said.
Flint said this is the first time one of his players has been arrested since he became head coach in 1996.
This is Mack's second brush with the law since coming to UMass. A judge declined to charge Mack during a scuffle involving several students at a UMass dining hall in November 1998.
Mack led UMass with 19.8 points per game last year.
The Minutemen begin practice for the 2000-01 season Oct. 13 at a Midnight Madness session at the Mullins Arena.
Stacey Shackford of the Gazette contributed to this report.
MHERST - University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Bruiser Flint suspended senior guard Monty Mack for three games Friday, saying he was disappointed in Mack for the shoplifting incident that led to his arrest Thursday.
Mack will not play in the two pre-season exhibition games against the California All-Stars, Nov. 3, and Statmaster.com, Nov. 10. He also will not play in the regular season opener against Iona Nov. 18.
"After reviewing the facts, I have decided to suspend Monty for the first three games of the season," Flint said. "Monty has worked very hard to regain an extra year of eligibility, but he made a very poor decision. I'm deeply disappointed in his action, because it doesn't reflect the values of our program or what Monty Mack is all about."
Mack apologized for the incident.
"I'm very sorry that I have embarrassed myself, family, teammates and the university. I know that I made a bad decision and I regret my actions and know that I will have to pay a penalty.
"I let down a lot of people, especially my mother and Coach Flint, two people who care a great deal about me," Mack said. "I would also like to say I'm sorry to the fans who have supported the team since I've been here. I want to put this behind me and focus on having a great senior season and help us get back to the NCAA Tournament. I'm very sorry about this entire situation."
Mack, who was arraigned Thursday in Northampton District Court, is scheduled to appear in court again Oct. 27.
Hadley police said that Mack had seven DVD movies worth $159.93 stuffed into his sweat pants as he tried to leave Kmart at the Hampshire Mall Thursday morning.
Mack could face a fine of up to $1,000 and as much as 2 1/2 years in prison, although Massachusetts sentencing guidelines recommend a fine and a probationary sentence.
Mack, 23, a fifth-year student from South Boston, sat out his freshman year after failing to meet NCAA academic eligibility requirements, but gained a fourth year of playing eligibility, under NCAA rules, by completing his degree in four years.
MHERST - Monty Mack apologized yesterday for his actions that led to a shoplifting charge, and University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Bruiser Flint suspended his star guard for the Nov. 18 opener against Iona.
Mack, who is taking graduate courses to utilize his final year of basketball eligibility, was arrested Thursday for an incident at Kmart in Hadley's Hampshire Mall. He will also sit out UMass' two preseason games.
Mack pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Northampton District Court Thursday, and a pre-trial conference is scheduled Oct. 27. But in a statement yesterday, he expressed regret for what happened.
"I let down a lot of people, especially my mother and coach Flint, two people who care a great deal about me," Mack said. "I'm very sorry about this entire situation. I know that I made a bad decision, and I regret my actions and know I will have to pay a penalty (for them)."
Mack, 23, was charged with one count of shoplifting. He is accused of removing seven DVD movies from Kmart shelves, then hiding them in his sweat pants.
The value of the merchandise was listed at $159.93.
"I am very sorry that I have embarrassed myself, my family and the university," Mack said. "I would also like to say I'm sorry to the fans who have supported the team since I've been here."
The incident creates a cloudy start to the UMass season, which Mack enters with 1,617 career points.
"I am deeply disappointed in his action, because it doesn't reflect the values of this program of what Monty Mack is all about," Flint said. "Monty worked very hard to regain an extra year of eligibility, but he made a very poor decision."
By graduating on time last spring, Mack regained his fourth year of eligibility. He sat out as a freshman, in accordance with NCAA academic rules.
In 1998, charges against Mack were dismissed for his role in a brawl on campus.
Mack has attracted modest interest from the NBA. He said he hoped this incident didn't leave a permanent scar on his reputation.
"I want to put this behind me and focus on having a great senior season and help us get back to the NCAA tournament," he said.
MHERST � For whatever it's worth, Monty Mack has been willing to face the music caused � by his own off-key actions, and yesterday was no different.
"Everybody's human, and I made a mistake," the University of Massachusetts men's basketball guard said, somberly but directly, at the team's media day. "I've apologized to my mom, the coaches, the team and the university. I'll be fine."
Mack's legal case was quietly resolved this week, when he admitted to sufficient facts for a guilty finding. That allowed the case to be continued without a guilty finding until April.
Now comes the real cost, which is knowing that one stupid decision threatens to overshadow a four-year reputation as a reliable, likable guy � marred only by a 1998 campus brawl that was deemed not to be his fault.
Whatever people say will pale in comparison to what they may be thinking. And some will see Mack as just another case of a kid who got a free tuition because he was a jock, and showed his appreciation by trying to rip off some movies.
But there's also a saying that good people do bad things, and bad people do evil things. My personal opinion � and a strong one at that � remains that Mack is a good person who did something bad.
That's also the opinion of Bruiser Flint after last week's shoplifting incident cost Mack his good name � all for the sake of $159.93 of DVD movies at a local store.
"All you can do is shake your head," said the UMass coach, who has punished Mack but intends to stand by him, too. "You talk to these kids until you're blue in the face, and it still happens.
"It's almost like you're not surprised anymore when it happens," asked Flint, who often sounds dismayed by the path he sees society taking. "And that scares me."
Flint never asked Mack to explain why he did it. Everybody knows why. He did it because he assumed he wouldn't get caught.
But he was caught, and everything has changed. "He's hurt himself," Flint said, "because people will look at him differently."
Mack has been suspended for the season opener against Iona, as well as both preseason games. He will practice with the team. He will participate in Midnight Madness.
And his teammates have emphatically told Flint they want Mack to remain a team captain.
"He's a leader, on and off the court," said guard Jonathan DePina, one of Mack's best friends and a teammate since high school. "He's a great guy. Everybody should see that."
Most have, until now.
"My teammates know I made a mistake, said Mack, 23, whose season still holds wonderful prospects � a shot at All-America status, a march to 2,000 career points, perhaps a chance for the NBA � if he can put this behind him. "But they know what type of person I am."
Flint thinks he does, too, in spite of this disillusioning setback.
"Monty's been here five years, and I think he's a good kid," Flint said. "I know he's a good kid."
The coach didn't see the point of a harsher suspension.
"I thought about more," Flint said. "But his wounds are self-inflicted."
What Mack hears around here will be mild. Wait until UMass goes to, say, St. Bonaventure.
"Nowadays, you don't know what you're going to hear on the road, anyway," Mack said. He also wants to believe his reputation will not be ruined by one stupid moment in a store.
"I'm fine," Mack said. "I think I'm already past it." Maybe we should try to be, too, if only because because even a good person can do a bad thing.
ORTHAMPTON - University of Massachusetts basketball star Monty Mack has admitted to facts sufficient to warrant a guilty finding on a misdemeanor charge of shoplifting.
Mack, 23, appeared Tuesday before Northampton District Court Judge James McElroy four days after he was arrested leaving the Hadley Kmart store with seven DVD movies worth $159.93 hidden in his sweat pants.
McElroy continued the case for six months and said he would dismiss the charge if Mack stays out of trouble. He was assessed $100 in court costs and a $35 fee.
Mack, a point guard from Boston and three-year starter, led the Minutemen with 19.8 points a game last season.
The fifth-year student sat out his freshman year after failing to meet NCAA academic eligibility requirements, but gained a fourth year of playing eligibility, under NCAA rules, when he completed his degree in four years.
Coach Bruiser Flint suspended Mack for the first three games of the season - two exhibition games and a regular season opener on Nov. 18.
The team opens practice at midnight Friday.