Charges dropped against six in brawl at Guilford

Nearly two months after three Palestinian students told a Guilford County magistrate that they were brutally beaten and ethnically intimidated during a drunken brawl at Guilford College, a prosecutor dropped charges against the six football players accused in the assault.

The accusations in late January put the Greensboro school, with its rich heritage in the pacifist Quaker faith, on an international stage.

There was an outcry on campus. Muslims from around the world expressed concern. Al Jazeera, the Arabic news network based in Qatar, arrived in Greensboro to do a segment on the incident.

The Palestinian students, including an N.C. State University freshman, said they were called "terrorists" and taunted with racial slurs as they were beaten and kicked Jan. 20.

On Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Howard Neumann said he dropped the charges after reviewing witness statements from nearly 30 people. All six players faced assault charges, and five of them were charged with ethnic intimidation.

"There was a lot of conflicting evidence," Neumann said. "Of the six who were initially charged, the complaining witnesses indicated that two of them had nothing to do with it. That made me question where they got the information that they gave the magistrate."

The charges did not stem from a Greensboro police investigation. The accusers went to the Guilford County Magistrate's Office two days after the incident to swear out warrants.

The accusers were Osama Sabbah and Faris Khader, Guilford students, and Omar Awartani, an NCSU freshman who was visiting them. None could be reached for comment.

The accused

The accused were: Christopher Barnette of Semora, Michael Bates of Reidsville, Michael Robert Six of Clemmons, Jonathan Blake Underwood of Clinton, S.C., Mical Rushing of Albemarle and Jazz Alfray Favors of Alpharetta, Ga. None could be reached for comment.

Barnette, an NCAA Division III All-America wide receiver at Guilford, is the younger brother of former NCSU quarterback Jamie Barnette.

A lawyer representing two of the accusers said earlier that if the players apologized, they would consider asking for the charges to be dropped.

Neumann said he considered that, but the apologies were not a major factor. "We don't say, 'Well, if you say you're sorry, we'll dismiss the charges,' " Neumann said. "That's not the way we do it in Guilford County."

Neumann said he questioned whether the accusers had provided firsthand information to the magistrate or relayed details that others had given to them about the fight.

"That makes a big difference," Neumann said.

In addition to weighing the conflicting accounts of the fight, Neumann said he took into account that Guilford College had conducted its own on-campus judicial review of the case.

"They can make students do certain things that the courts can't do," Neumann said.

Nic Brown, assistant director of college relations at Guilford, said the incident sparked rigorous debate at the small liberal arts school.

"Guilford's identity is very much one of being very socially active and socially conscious," Brown said. "This really gave the students something concrete to discuss."

The incident sparked much discussion about ethnic diversity and the role of athletics at Guilford and on other college campuses.

The fight also prompted the Quaker school to reaffirm its values, Brown said.

"Any time a violent incident happens on a Quaker campus," he said, "there's going to be intense scrutiny."