Judge Throws Out Assault Charges Against Arab-American Football Players
<center><object type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” id=”video” width=”320″ height=”280″ data=”http://www.wxyz.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=18327″><param value=”http://www.wxyz.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=18327″ name=”movie”/><param value=”&skin=MP1ExternalAll-MFL.swf&embed=true&adSizeArray=1×1000,320×40,&adSrc=http%3A%2F%2Fad%2Edoubleclick%2Enet%2Fpfadx%2Fssp%2Ewxyz%2Fnews%2Fregion%2Fwayne%5Fcounty%2Fdetail%3Bdcmt%3Dtext%2Fxml%3Bsz%3D%25size%25%3Bpos%3D%25pos%25%3Bloc%3D%25loc%25%3Bcomp%3D%25adid%25%3Btile%3D3%3Bfname%3Djudge%2Ddismisses%2Dcharges%2Dagainst%2Dfour%2Dmuslim%2Dhigh%2Dschool%2Dfootball%2Dplayers%3Bord%3D891027542993369300%3Frand%3D%25rand%25&flv=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ewxyz%2Ecom%2Ffeeds%2FoutboundFeed%3FobfType%3DVIDEO%5FPLAYER%5FSMIL%5FFEED%26componentId%3D189007805&img=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia2%2Ewxyz%2Ecom%2F%2Fphoto%2F2012%2F04%2F04%2FA%5Fjudge%5Fdismisses%5Fchar5015b2ec%2D8d1b%2D406f%2Da21e%2D7f2b6ffd7f640000%5F20120404182610%5F640%5F480%2EJPG&story=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ewxyz%2Ecom%2Fdpp%2Fnews%2Fregion%2Fwayne%5Fcounty%2Fjudge%2Ddismisses%2Dcharges%2Dagainst%2Dfour%2Dmuslim%2Dhigh%2Dschool%2Dfootball%2Dplayers&category=local%5Fnews&title=A%20judge%20dismisses%20charges%20against%20four%20football%20players&oacct=&ovns=” name=”FlashVars”/><param value=”all” name=”allowNetworking”/><param value=”always” name=”allowScriptAccess”/></object></center>
A district court judge in Dearborn Heights dismissed the case against four high school football players Wednesday.
The four teenagers had been charged as adults and with misdemeanor assault and battery for an on-field incident in October.
They were accused of assaulting the opposing team’s quarterback on the final play of the game.
“Whoever authorized these charges has apparently never watched a football game,” said Judge Mark Plawecki Wednesday.
Attorneys for the four boys say they were only charged because of their Muslim background, and no other football player has ever been charged for an incident like this.
“We accept the decision of the Court and have no plans to appeal the matter,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in a statement. It was the only comment she made on the case today.
The teens attend Star Academy in Dearborn Heights.
The opposing quarterback, tenth-grader at Lutheran High School in Westland, suffered a grade three concussion.
P.J. Guse’s family tells Action News they are stunned by the judge’s decision, and are considering filing a civil lawsuit.
“This was just thuggery,” said Jane Guse, P.J.’s mother.
The four teenagers are Mohamed Ahmed, Hadee Attia, Fanar al-Asady and Ali Bajjey. All are heading to college and will do so with clean records.
“It’s a big relief,” said Attia after today’s hearing.
Michael Rosenfield
WXYZ