Michigan State Hockey Player Rips School for Reinstating Glenn Winston

An ugly incident took place on the campus of Michigan State University in October, when Glenn Winston, a football player, attacked a hockey player named A.J. Sturges. Winston punched Sturges in the head, causing a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

Winston pleaded guilty to assault and was briefly suspended from the football team. But he has now been reinstated, and that led Sturges to release a withering statement, ripping the school, the football team and the athletic program for the seemingly lax punishment.

Sturges' statement should be read in full, but this is the key section:

In my opinion, the immediate reinstatement of Glenn Winston to the football team reflects very poorly on Michigan State Athletics. This decision has established weak precedent for future athletes involved in violent crimes.

Last October, I was assaulted by Glenn Winston. This was not a fight, or a disagreement. I was in bed in my room and came downstairs after hearing the commotion caused by three cars pulling up filled with screaming and violent people. I was standing in my front yard trying to figure out what was going on when Glenn Winston punched me in the head from the side. I never saw him. I did not have any chance to protect myself at all. Neither did his other victims.

That night, I received a fractured skull, five stitches inside my mouth, and a subdural hematoma, or bleeding on the brain. I was not involved in a college fight, as this story is perceived. After having nothing to do with any events that occurred earlier that night, I was attacked in my own house.

Michigan State Associate Athletic Director John Lewandowski offered a stunningly tone-deaf response to that statement, saying that Sturges has provided the school with "no new information" about the night Winston attacked him, and that, "We're moving forward and there will be no additional statements on this matter."

While Michigan State's response does not reflect well on the school, Sturges' statement does reflect well on him. The easy thing to do would be to go along with what the athletic department wants, and not make any waves. Instead, Sturges is speaking out for himself, and for all victims of violent crime. Sturges is a student-athlete Michigan State should be proud to have.