EMU student regrets not pursuing charges against Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin

This kid needs to get a grip on life, and understand his position at that post. He was not assaulted for crissake. Just be happy it wasn't Bobby Knight!

He should have pressed assault charges,and also ethnic intimidation charges against Bill Martin. Probably would have ended up with a big monetary reward.

Let's try to remember who is supposed to be the adult in this situation.

You can always change your mind and contact the U of M DPS

Why are we even writing about this? Keep piling on. Why don't you have Bill Martin and Rich Rodriquez under 24 hr observation to see if we can find other stupid stuff to write about. Oh no I'm so scared, he grabbed my windbreaker. This is laughable.

I would assume all involved were supposed to be adults. But life is not perfect and people are sometimes rude and an apology was given, but now this little 19 yr old with a lifetime of experience doesn't consider it sincere. But if he had thought that before, he wouldn't be getting any write up about this now would he?

@djm12652

This "kid's" position at that post was to make sure that people without the proper credentials did not go into secure areas. I am a security professional with quite a bit of experience protecting events, as well as supervising student guards. This young man was merely doing his job.

According to West's Law Encyclopedia, "ASSAULT is an act that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent, harmful, or offensive contact. The act consists of a threat of harm accompanied by an apparent, present ability to carry out the threat. BATTERY is a harmful or offensive touching of another." If the facts of the case are as reported, then the young man had a case.

There is absolutely no excuse for workplace violence. The fact that one of the parties is a highly paid, senior university employee and the other is a part-time student employee does not make it less serious. In fact, it seems to make it worse. By essentially sweeping this under the rug, the University is sending the message that if you are high enough up on the food chain, it is acceptable for you to assault those "beneath" you.

He should have pressed charges. No one has a right to put their hands on you...unless they are an officer of the law.
Simple as that.
Being an AD of ANY school does not exempt you from the laws in this country.

"ASSAULT is an act that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent, harmful, or offensive contact. The act consists of a threat of harm accompanied by an apparent, present ability to carry out the threat. BATTERY is a harmful or offensive touching of another."

If he felt he was in imminent danger when it happened, THAT IS WHEN YOU MAKE THE COMPLAINT and stick with it.....you don't later have regrets once you think about it, or what you could get out of it - either you feel you're in danger or you don't! This is ridiculous....

Hey, everyone, look! EMU students receive twenty more seconds of fame for four seconds of time in the history of the world . . .
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My hope is that these students, through intelligence and good work, will make genuine names for themselves in their contributions to the world.
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If this is the incident that sidetracks their development, may they, and we, receive great mercy!

srburns...gee thanks for all of that important info, so all of the drunk students and game attendees to home games, that push people aside, or grab someone as they are falling down is committing a crime? What about the guy that threatening to pee on me and my car when I caught him exposing himself...was that assault? There is no cover-up...this is such a non issue. Had this been such a big deal, the kids should have filed charges right then and there...otherwise it's moot [which I think means, too late to really give a rat's patooty about it]. But then again, a psychology student would have more insight into these things, right? Gimme a break...non issue, non story...once again..

Missing the point, Martin lied. Give the kid credit for calling him on it.

This is news???? Wow

He grabbed his windbreaker, thats it? And THAT warrants pursuing charges? Grow up, why does everyone have to be so soft?

While I understand those of you who feel that seeking criminal charges in this incident are overkill, I also understand how the two U od M employees feel. I worked as an usher at the Big House for seven enjoyable years. I considered management to be mostly fair, and the experience was something I will look back on fondly, but I also need to express that there were meetings before every season where our duties were specifically outlined. Things like checking every single ticket and credential. No exceptions. Security is of the utmost importance, especially after 9-11. While I was but a lowly usher in the student section, I would imagine that those who worked the area where Mr. Martin had access to were under much stricter guidelines as far as what crediantials were required for entry. I would go so far as to suggest that if somebody got in who was not supposed to be there, that security person would be in a lot of trouble for not following the required admittance procedures. The thing that troubles me here is that Mr. Martin of all people should have been aware of the rule. He IS the AD for gosh sakes. If I were in his shoes I would have been a little embarrassed about it. More troubling is that it happened twice and he dealt with it the wrong way both times. Mr. Martin had choices in how to handle those moments. Let's ask ourselves, "what would Bo do?" I think Bo would have praised the individuals on the spot for following the procedures set forth by the Athletic Department. What could Mr. Martin done differently after the two incidents happened? Well if it was me, I would have made a point to maybe buy them both a hot dog and a Coke before the next game and spend a few minutes with an apology and a nice conversation. We would probably never have read about this in the paper if he had done just that. Does Mr. Martin deserve criminal charges brought against him for this? Probably not. Should he eat some humble pie, and read about his arrogance in the papers for it? In my humble opinion, yes. He is supposed to lead by example, and he didn't. Enjoy your pie Mr. Martin. :)

Most likely, the regret comes from asking for a lot of money and being laughed at. Kid probably thought this was his big lottery payday.

I'd understand the anger if the kid were injured in some way.

If the student grabbed Martin's windbreaker and pushed him aside, would this still be a "non-issue"?

It is interesting how the rules of an organization are interpret differntly for different groups of people in the work environment. In one situation, a person who uninvitably touch another person in the work place, can and will be charged with an assualt. That person just happens to be low on the toten pole and does not wield any "real" power in the orgnization. He/she is made an example for other employees so that the rest of the members of the organization understands the rules and the organization can enjoy its reputation as offering a safe and secure work environment for its employees. Another employee, who happens to be high on the food chain and wields power in the organiztion, committs the identical offense and that person walks away with nothing more that some "public embarrassment." It tells other members of the organization that you are safe from some members of the organization but you are vulnerable to others depending on where they are on the organizational power chain. It is unfortunate that both of these employees failed to do the right thing (they were more concerned about their self-interest and survival). I hope this serves as a "teachable moment" for employees, that no one, regardless of where they are in the organizational strucuture has a right to ininvitably put their hands on you. However, the only way the rule means anything is if the employees are willing to take appropriate actions when they are broken. Otherwise, don't complain.

Let's see I'm not a U of M employee,contractor.I do not go to games..I do know what Bill Martin looks like,did anyone let Mr. Martin know about the security changes?..Are you saying you will not let the Athletic Director roam the Stadium and go into restricted areas?..But also Mr.Martin should have asked for a DPS employee to verify his ID,problem solved..Apology?accept it and move Mr.Kahn and Ms.Turner..Ann Arbor.Com you also..Oh and wolverine 3660 it's not all about money.lets try to be adults and accept apologies,like the old days and not get a law firm involved..

Look, sports is about winning. Period. I am not really sure about this sideshow.

I seem to remember that Les Miles was once available to discuss football coaching and Bill Martin was too busy with some party in Florida?

Why is it important that the 19-year old was a biology and psychology double major? It adds nothing to the story! Why not just say he is an Eastern Michigan Student? Did Arif Khan contact Ann Arbor.com to tell you he regrets not pursuing it? Or did you seek him out because you had no real story to cover?

it's not too late. you can still press charges unless you signed a document saying you wouldn't press charges. yeah just be happy it wasn't bobby knight or you would have been dumped in a trash can or had chairs flung at you...by the way.... good luck with this. you'll need it. ask kent benson about bobby k.

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3jimmy

Don't worry about that guy anymore. He's history

Hey, the Eastern Echo is getting in there. Finally, some positive news from Ypsilanti.

Smells like he is getting ready to file a lawsuit. But it gives trolls with nothing better to do a reason to live, so I guess it's OK. Even trolls deserve a reason to live.

@rkb

Assault can occur without "danger". Offensive contact is also assault...but not every case needs to lead to criminal charges. What I was pointing out is that if the facts of the case are as reported, then assault DID occur, and charges could be pressed.

@djm

If someone threatens to urinate on your vehicle, they have committed assault. If you wished, you could press charges, and in some cases, you probably should. The people bumping into others at football games are not committing assault, since they do not have intent. Simple difference.

Again, the young man was doing his job. Martin behaved disgustingly. Workplace violence has absolutely no place in a civilized society!

@ Everyone who is making snide little comments about Mr. Khan being a student at Eastern:

Why does it make it a difference? Because you think that Martin is a more valuable person because he is employed at a "higher class" university? All Americans have the same rights and must obey the same laws, whether they go to Eastern Michigan, the University of Michigan, or Harvard University. You who suggest otherwise are showing an ugly, disgusting streak of arrogance that makes me ashamed for this great University.