Note: Earlier versions of this article contained quotes from a Twitter account that cannot be confirmed to be Rashan S. Michel's.
Former NBA referee Rashan S. Michel’s much publicized fight with Atlanta sports icon Dominique Wilkins March 30 was not his first encounter with a member of the Atlanta Hawks over an alleged debt for clothing.
Michel had a similar, though non-violent, confrontation with then-Hawks rookie Solomon Jones in 2007, according to Atlanta Police Department records.
Jones noticed Michel arguing with Jones' father in a Philips Arena walkway after a Friday game in January 2007, according to the incident report. At the time, Jones and Michel were engaged in an ongoing dispute over a $12,000 bill for "business attire" that Michel had shipped to Jones’ locker unsolicited, Jones told police.
Michel had previously threatened civil action, the report says.
Jones told police that as he approached the argument to find out what was going on, Michel told him "that he didn’t need to handle the situation civilly, but would take care of [Solomon Jones] with 'street justice, take care of this problem out in the street!'"
Jones said he felt threatened by Michel’s words. He reported the incident to police the following Monday, not because he wanted an arrest but “he wishes the verbal threat be documented in case anything happens to him or his family.”
Attempts to reach Jones and Michel were unsuccessful Thursday night.
Michel was charged with misdemeanor assault. Wilkins will not face criminal charges in the so-called "scuffle" between him and Michel last month, Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos told the AJC.
The incident took place near the Phillips Arena floor once Wilkins finished his broadcasting duties after the Hawks' game against the Orlando Magic.
Police said Michel made his way to the arena floor and confronted Wilkins along press row. Officer Kim Jones, an Atlanta police spokeswoman, said Michel hit Wilkins in the chest.
Sekou Smith of NBA.com tweeted that he saw Wilkins land three solid punches during the brief fight while his assailant landed none.
Michel tried to explain his actions at Philips Arena in a local radio interview.
"I was like, ‘Let's handle this like men, work out a payment plan,'" Michel said on the Frank and Wanda Morning Show on V-103.
Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said the team instructed Wilkins not to comment.
Michel sued Wilkins in Fulton County State Court in April 2010, saying he owes $12,500 for custom clothing. The suit claims that the former player owed Michel money for clothes that Wilkins allegedly purchased from his business, Rashan Michel Custom Clothier. The business was dissolved in 2008, according to Georgia Secretary of State records.
The lawsuit is for suits and custom clothes that Wilkins allegedly bought but did not pay for, court documents show. Wilkins is said to have bought the clothes between Jan. 1 and May 1, 2009, according to court documents.
Michel, of Atlanta, was 23 and the NBA's youngest referee when he started working games in 1997, officiating until 2001. He later opened his clothing business.
Wilkins, 51, played for the Hawks from 1982 until 1994, and was enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Staff writer Ty Tagami contributed to this article.
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