Man wearing Michigan State shirt assaulted in Ann Arbor
A man was injured Saturday night after being assaulted by three men because he was wearing a Michigan State University shirt, Ann Arbor police said.
About 10 p.m., the 23-year-old East Lansing man was walking near the intersection of 1st and West Huron streets when the men confronted him because they didn't like his shirt, police spokeswoman Lt. Renee Bush said.
The men punched him in the face and body, leaving him with cuts to his face, Bush said.
The victim was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, police said. He was walking to a South Division Street home at the time, Bush said. Bush did not have further details, and detailed descriptions of the men were not available.
Anyone with information can call the police department's tipline at 734-794-6939.
Comments
bluemax79
Tue, Sep 13, 2011 : 3:07 p.m.
these were not sports fans nobody who is a Michigan fan was not watching the game. probably got beat up by his buddies and blamed someone else.
Sciomanone1
Tue, Sep 13, 2011 : 12:19 p.m.
When I worked in the ER at U of M during the midnight shift on a game day, alot of people would come into the ER because that would have on a Ohio State shirts, usually after the sports fans were drunk between 10 pm and 4 am. Some times patients would come into the ER with stab wounds and alot of assults, I guess this made the news because it was a Michigan State fan and not a Ohio State fan. This has been going on for years. When working the ER on a Sports game day from the U of M wow, it was like a blue lite special at K-mart on Christmas eve the Emergency Room would be so busy from fights and drunks. Sports in Ann Arbor can make it a busy day for the Hospitals more than the restaurants.
Roadman
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 11:05 p.m.
There are parallels between this incident and Bryan Stow case at Dodger Stadium. Let us not hope it becomes a trend.
tim
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 9:49 p.m.
I know a guy now in his 90s that went to school at State. He told me that back in the day that huge gangs of MSU students would come to Ann Arbor and get into all out brawls with UM students. At least things aren't as bad as they were in the good old days. It's just a game folks.
buildergirl
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 8:19 p.m.
This is terrible. I grew up and now reside in Ann Arbor but I went to State. It leaves me open to ribbing on both sides of the fence. I have to say my Spartan friends are much more adamant about the rivalry than my Wolverine family and friends keeping their energy focus on the evil Buckeyes. Do I have to worry about wearing my Spartan gear around town now?
Rob Pollard
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 9:03 p.m.
As someone who walked around town for hours on Saturday and saw literally hundreds of people in ND gear not get punched in the face, I'd say no.
jrigglem
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 7:49 p.m.
Have to agree with the other comments that say that this definitely happens. I went to the other green and white school across 23 and used to get evil glares for wearing a EMU shirt/hoodie in downtown Ann Arbor. EMU will never even rank close to UM so I don't know why there is the need for hostility. I even attended the EMU/UM game back in 2008, where the score was ridiculously close for most of the game, and the UM fans were just obnoxious about scoring a touchdown and EMU fans even being in the stands. Word of advice, never assume a fan of a different college isn't a UM fan when they aren't playing their alma mater.
Dave66
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 7:31 p.m.
Despite the feigned shock that someone from UM could do such a thing (must have been from out of town, couldn't be a real M fan because all the *real* fans were watching the game, etc.) you know full well that this incident is not a unique event. M isn't any better than anyone else. Not any worse, either, if that's what it takes to make you feel better about yourselves. Go ahead and tell stories about how Michigan fans get just as bad or worse at OSU or MSU if distracting yourselves is helpful, but you remind me of the dog in "UP who yelled "SQUIRREL!" every few seconds. But for those whose denial runs deeper than a river in Egypt, here's a test for you to prove your confidence that the pure and beautiful Michigan fans couldn't possibly do such a thing: Put an OSU bumper sticker on your car and leave it unattended for a few days and nights in a student area near campus. I know nobody will perform this little experiment. Yeah, yeah, I know, no "true" M fan could possibly do anything as crass and vulgar as vandalize a car just for having the wrong colors, so of course the car will be perfectly safe forever and ever. Blah, blah, blah. That doesn't change the fact that everyone *knows* it's taking a huge risk. So drop the holier-than-thou attitude. You're not fooling anyone, not even yourselves.
buildergirl
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 8:20 p.m.
Walmart Wolverines...
racerx
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 6:43 p.m.
No article on the fight on S. University where police had to use mace to clear the crowds? The Detroit News has an article on it today. Mmm...no mention of it in the Snooze.
a2roots
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 6:32 p.m.
Crazy some of the assumption people are making. Unlikely 50 more cops could have stopped something like this. Just because it was a msu shirt does not mean the beaten and the beaters were students at any given institution. Based on location I would assume the perps were thugs from outside the university community. The absolutely horrible aa.com reporting is responsible for wild assumptions and accusations.
MisterAngryBear
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 6:18 p.m.
Hardly surprising; I've been taunted a number of times for wearing Michigan State or OSU gear which I picked up after attending academic functions at the respective schools. As someone who cannot understand why 100,000 + people would turn out to watch an extra-curricular activity take place, all I can do is shake my head.
a2zoo
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 7:10 p.m.
As I stated above. Same thing happened to me when I attended an MSU vs. OSU football game wearing a Block M hat.
sellers
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 6:25 p.m.
I hear you. I have swag from various institutions I've worked for or worked on projects related to. I even owned MSU and U-M swag while before attending any collegiate school. I thought about having swag from all the higher education campuses across the state, and then moving to Oh and In as well. As pointed out above - I want to believe this was a visitor to the city who was intoxicated, and will reflect poorly on Ann Arbor. I hope they find out the perp was from some other city.
a2cents
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 6:06 p.m.
It begins to make sense if you consider the marketing-fueled mania as gang behavior, colors & all.
Grimey
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 11:07 p.m.
^Nice comment^
UlyssesSwrong
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 5:58 p.m.
More likely than not it was fueled by alcohol. Almost nobody in a sober state would decide to attack someone because of sports allegiances. Maybe I'm assuming too much and giving people's judgement too much credit though. But if you've experienced social life with sports around sports cities enough, you'll see that most of these people are getting drunk, making bad decisions, and even getting into disputes because of the 'wrong colors' or trash talk which goes overboard a lot. It's all part of the wild nature of game day but it is unfortunate that some take it this far. It's all about fun, violence is unnecessary. Keep the rivalries strong but people need to remember it's just a game!
Robert
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 5:48 p.m.
It's a shame the three remaining police officers weren't able to protect him. But on the bright side if he ever does come back to A2 I'm sure he'd be welcome to swing by city hall and admire their lovely art collection.
notnecessary
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 5:34 p.m.
Lame. University of Michigan should be above this kind of stuff. This is OSU crap.
a2roots
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 6:26 p.m.
How do you assume it is UM stuff? Based on location it is likely to be out of town thugs here for the bart scene.
Jack Gladney
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 5:31 p.m.
Not surprising. Wal-Mart Wolverines. Go to YouTube and search "Pure Michigan Football" You may see a suspect.
a2zoo
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 7:08 p.m.
Uhhh, this same thing happened to me in East Lansing a few years ago when I attended the MSU vs OSU (I was cheering for MSU, never again) game wearing my Block M hat. I get yelled at all day, people old and young jumping in front of me screaming "Toledo", until later at tailgate some guy comes up behind my and sucker punches me. I guess they were Safeway Spartans. I have never been treated that bad, even in Columbus. Even the parking attendants were on me as I drove in.
Jack Gladney
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 5:43 p.m.
Wal-Mart Wolverines are people? :)
notnecessary
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 5:33 p.m.
I'm pretty sure that comment violates the policy...it suspects people!
Davidian
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 5:21 p.m.
Sports violence is so incredibly stupid. It's indefensible and ridiculous. People that takes sports this seriously need to get a life.
Basic Bob
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 5:18 p.m.
A possible hate crime?
RJA
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 4:40 p.m.
SAD! This is crazy when you can't wear shirts of your favorite team. (or any shirt) I hope these 3 thugs are caught soon, and the victim recovers well. My brother (a Michigan Fan) had a stroke in a WV hospital. We took him Michigan lounge pants and shirts. (even a hat) It caused a stir, but only about their prior coach.
smokeblwr
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 4:33 p.m.
What real UM fan is wandering the streets at 10pm on Saturday night?!?!? They should have been glued to their tv or at the game!! Maybe they were ND fans getting ready for next week's ND-MSU showdown?
obviouscomment
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 5:07 p.m.
this comment may have been made in jest, but it's actually a very good possibility...anybody that worked up about an MSU tshirt on UM campus would've been totally engrossed in the game
Lovaduck
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 4:17 p.m.
I'm afraid that no matter how much we enjoy them, sports releases violent impulses; since these games,etc. are little mock wars. Sports also gives people an opportunity of sublimate (channel) their aggressive impulses in a fun direction. I guess that's just the name of the game, no pun intended. It's sad when fun rivalries cause people to be seriously injured.
mike gatti
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 4:09 p.m.
Really? Beat up a guy because he didn't like the same sports team as you? It is a good thing that the Sharks didn't catch the Jets in their neighborhood. Come on Grow the heck up you losers.