Assaulted (Michigan 29, Michigan State 7)

For Sparty, it's not business, it's personal.

Photo: Zoey Holmstrom

By now we've all seen the videos. There are no words really, to explain let alone justify what some Michigan State players did in the tunnel after the game on Saturday. There's no justification for that – although some Sparty fans and media have been trying – because of course they have.

I guess if this type of thing was ever going to happen, it was going to happen with Michigan State. It had to be Michigan State. Of course. What other program would have guys willing to toss their careers away for a chance to knock a Michigan player out...after the game is over...walking back to the locker room?

Awful people from garbage programs do this. No one else does. 

Michigan State had 60 minutes to be physical, with no repercussions. Instead it was Michigan who imposed their will physically on both sides of the ball, outrushing Michigan State 276 to 37. Once again, it was the battle up front that paved the way for another dominating Wolverine victory. Despite some redzone struggles that resulted in field goals rather than touchdowns, this game was never really in doubt. 

Michigan possessed the ball for over 40 minutes, ran 59% of their plays from the MSU side of the fifty, and only punted once. It was an overpowering victory for Michigan – which is becoming a trend lately,  one that obviously is frustrating the hell out of opponents, who seemingly have no answers for what is happening on the field, so that frustration spills out in the tunnel.

Players are always going to be passionate and emotional – especially after a loss. But to take out those frustrations the way Michigan State players did after the game has no place at any level of any sport.

I don't know what will happen next – an investigation is in progress. Suspensions for Tank Brown, Khary Crump, Angelo Grose, and Zion Young have been announced...with probably more on the way. Some expulsions as well. But I assume at some point more than a couple MSU players will be invited to see the inside of a courtroom. Where they go from will be up to the criminal justice system just as long as it's not back to a football field.

It is my hope none of the MSU players involved ever get a chance to play or even be around organized sports ever again.

This is how this has to go. There's no grey area here. This was assault. Perhaps not with the intent to kill, but a helmet being swung at a head can kill. No question about it.

My god...I still can't believe what I saw in those videos. I can't believe that not only did those Michigan State players do what they did...but there are some, if not many, willing to somehow justify these heinous actions by saying the Michigan players deserved it. That just simply by being in the tunnel...the only tunnel the stadium has...that they had it coming.

Even if Ja'Den McBurrows and Gemon Green did say something, there's no justification for the actions we saw in those videos. If they said words to Michigan State players then that should be dealt with accordingly. But that's not really relevant now.

I don't know what the eventual fallout is going to be, but I do hope that some fundamental changes occur in East Lansing. There must be a healthier approach to this rivalry by Michigan State, one that's rooted in football, not off-the-field bs. That massive chip that resides on Sparty's shoulder needs to just go away. 

It was fun, I guess, when Dantonio made his whole "Pride before the fall" comment 15 years ago. That quote, a response to Mike Hart's "little brother" comment after the 2007 win in East Lansing, rallied the Spartans and created a culture that led to a lot of success and reignited a somewhat dormant rivalry. The difference was, Hart's comment was made in jest, as an innocent jab at rival team. Dantonio didn't take it that way. It was personal...and it has been for Sparty ever since.