TV analyst and former Hawks star Dominique Wilkins will not face criminal charges in a so-called "scuffle" between him and a man who confronted him on the basketball court, Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos said.
Wilkins was not injured in the March 30 fight. Rashan S. Michel, a former NBA referee, was charged with misdemeanor assault. Michel confronted Wilkins over an unpaid debt for custom clothes.
The incident took place near the Phillips Arena floor once Wilkins finished his broadcasting duties following 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.
TMZ.com posted a low-quality video footage that begins after the incident had escalated and appears to show Wilkins throwing a punch as security personnel try to break up the scuffle.
Sekou Smith of NBA.com tweeted that Wilkins got in three solid punches during the brief fight, while his assailant landed none.
“A scuffle ensued, and we’re not real clear on what happened,” APD spokesman Carlos Campos said.
An arena employee with knowledge of the incident said Michel took a swing at Wilkins, who deflected the blow before shoving Michel into the first row of seats. An NBA security official tried to break up the fight but Wilkins shoved him aside, according to the employee.
Wilkins punched Michel as the NBA security official, arena security and Hawks security personnel broke up the fight, the employee said.
Campos told the AJC Wednesday that eyewitnesses point to Michel as being the aggressor in the incident.
“The video only captures a portion of the incident. The decision to charge only Mr. Michel with simple battery was based on more than one eyewitness account that described him as the aggressor towards Mr. Wilkins," Campos said.
Michel was taken to Fulton County Jail after he was charged with two counts of simple battery, accused of assaulting Wilkins and a Philips Arena security guard. Michel was released from jail on $1,000 bond the next day. No court date has been set.
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 has instructed Wilkins not to comment.
Wilkins also is a Hawks vice president who, according to the team's media guide, is responsible for "advising senior management on basketball-related issues and working as a strong voice in the community."
Michel has sued Wilkins in Fulton County State Court, saying he owes $12,500 for custom clothing. Michel also owes money himself, other court documents show.
Court documents show Michael himself was sued in Fulton County Magistrate Court in 2010 for $15,000, including $12,000 in unpaid rent for commercial real estate space on Edgewood Avenue.
Michel signed a lease to rent 487 Edgewood Avenue, court documents, including a writ of possession filed in July 2010, say.
Michel owes $12,000 in unpaid rent as well as $3,000 for damages and attorneys fees.
Michel countersued for $20,000, but the suit was tossed out because it was filed after the legal deadline.
Michael's suit against Wilkins was filed last April. In it, he claims the former player owed him 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 apparently 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 is asking for $9,000 for the suits as well as an additional 20 percent -- or $1,800 -- for a the unpaid balance.
He also wants Wilkins to pay for attorneys fees, court costs and interest that has accrued since that time, court documents show.
"It's unfortunate that something like that would go down here," Hawks center Al Horford said.
Hawks players' discussion of the incident centered around the police mugshot of Michel posted at AJC.com. Michel's left eye appeared to be nearly swollen shut.
"The results wasn't pretty," Hawks guard Joe Johnson said.
Michel, who is an Atlanta resident, 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.
State records showed that Michel owns A and R Motors Enterprises, which has an office address that matches Michel’s home on Summer Land Drive in Atlanta.
Wilkins had problems with the IRS around the time Michel’s clothing business closed. The federal government placed a lien against Wilkins’ house on Wisteria Vine Lane in Lilburn in 2008 for $37,833 in back taxes. The lien was released on Aug. 31.
--Staff writers Alexis Stevens, Larry Hartstein and Rhonda Cook contributed to this article.
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