Michigan Radio & TV Buzzboard

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/univ ... 691960007/

Details of the incident or why it took nearly two months to file charges were not immediately available.

Just a coincidence he was allowed to play the entire regular season.

It took less than a month for the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office to issue charges to seven MSU players following the tunnel incident. It sat on the Mazi Smith charges for nearly seven weeks.

Waiting for explanation from the prosecutor and Michigan football.

Let me get this straight. Jim Harbaugh was pushing for criminal charges for MSU players and insisting that an apology was not enough for a tunnel skirmish. Meanwhile, he was playing a guy that he knew had pending felony weapons charges. That's some good stuff right there.

As the Freep article point out, Emoni Bates was charged the day after his weapons arrest. Meanwhile, the prosecutor decided to wait 7 weeks to charge Mazi Smith so that he would be available for Ohio State.

Does anybody think this will hurt or help the prosecutor get reelected?

To be clear we don't know what the Michigan staff knew or didn't know or when they knew what they knew.
As to Emoni Bates He was arrested by the WCSO. The felony gun charges were dropped and he pled to a minor in possession of pot.
Mazi Smith was arrested by AAPD and beyond that we all have more questions than answers.

TC Talks wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:49 pm

Does anybody think this will hurt or help the prosecutor get reelected?

He will get reelected as many times as he wants in "landslide" results. His soft on crime mantra plays to the liberals that control the county for the most part.

TC Talks wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:49 pm

Does anybody think this will hurt or help the prosecutor get reelected?

100% help. The delay helped contribute to a win over Ohio State. Anything to help "the team, the team, the team".

Per Tony Paul on Twitter:

UM says Mazi Smith will continue to play. Michigan confirms it has known about this from the very beginning.

Charges are not the same as conviction

TC Talks wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 01, 2022 1:27 pm

Charges are not the same as conviction

So you're saying the MSU players involved in the tunnel scuffle shouldn't have been suspended until they were convicted?

If it is determined Smith's concealed weapon is stolen or was illegally obtained, he should face harsh punishment.

In some states, carrying a concealed weapon does not require a CCW permit.

Smith's actions did not occur inside the confines of Michigan Stadium or any other NCAA facility, and he did not intentionally inflict injury on someone else.

All we know so far is he was carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

Some additional info from the Freep:

Smith’s attorney, John Shea, told the court Smith was in the process of getting a concealed carry permit when he was pulled over and has since received the permit.

What Smith did was very stupid. He should've waited for his CCW permit to be issued. The irony here is that permit might now be revoked.

We also know:
October 7: Incident occurred, Harbaugh and athletic dept. knew at this point.
October 8: Smith played against Indiana and every game since.
October 14: Prosecutor received police report
October 29: Harbaugh calls for MSU players involved in tunnel scuffle to be charged and suspended. MSU suspends players involved.
November 23: MSU players charged, one as a felony.
November 26: Michigan plays OSU
December 1: Charges finally filed against Smith. Felony charge. Harbaugh still does not suspend, decides now that the process should play itself out.

I don't believe a suspension for Smith for what may be a victimless crime prior to issuance of charges would've been appropriate.

Should he be suspended now? If the gun is stolen or not his - 100% YES. He should face a severe suspension.

However, if the gun is his own and he simply was carrying it on his person when it should've been encased, I think no suspension would be warranted.

A felony is a felony.

We won't know those facts until the process plays itself out. A process that will most likely occur after football season is over, by design.

I'm sure most of the MSU players suspended and charged with a MISDEMEANOR (not felonies except for Crump) were "honest, forthcoming and cooperative from the very beginning and are tremendous young men". That didn't stop Harbaugh and the rest of Michigan fandom from calling for suspensions.