On Friday, five more Michigan State players were arraigned on misdemeanor assault charges for their involvement in the tunnel assault that took place in the Michigan Stadium tunnel in late October, and Michigan head coach Juwan Howard was mentioned by one of the defense lawyers. The players who were arranged on Friday include Itayvion Brown, Angelo Grose, Justin White, Brandon Wright, and Zion Young. During the arraignment, an odd exchange took place when Brown’s lawyer, Wade Fink, brought up Howard.
What did the defense lawyer for a Michigan State player say about Juwan Howard?
According to a report from Tony Paul of The Detroit News, During the arraignment, Judge Tamara Garwood of 15th Judicial District Court said that the players being arraigned had certain restrictions to follow, including not being able to have any contact with Michigan players, coaches, or the University of Michigan in general.
When those restrictions were announced, Fink and the rest of the defense lawyers were not happy. While addressing the judge, Fink brought up Juwan Howard and his incident with Wisconsin last season.
From Detroit News:
“To put these conditions on these kids and treat them as though they are a danger to anyone at the University of Michigan outside of the context of a highly emotional sporting event, when we don’t even know the facts of what the impetus was for this, I think is extreme,” Wade Fink, lawyer for Brown, said during the arraignment proceedings. “You’re talking about a highly emotional situation. There is nothing to suggest that Mr. Brown is a danger to anyone, quite the opposite. He is a gentle, kind, charitable young man who is good to his family, good to his friends, good to his program. I take issue that he is a danger to the University of Michigan, their coaches, their players, outside of the context of a fight that happens all the time.
“I don’t remember coach Juwan Howard being prevented from contacting the University of Wisconsin. I’m just a little troubled by the heavy-handedness of it, Judge. But that is your right.”
The judge responded by saying that Howard did not come before her, but had he, she likely would have given him similar restrictions.
“Juwan Howard did not come in front of me,” Garwood said in response to Fink. “Had he come in front of me, had that happened here and he was in front of me, he likely would’ve ended up with similar conditions.”