Mike Rabil '06, a fifth-year senior and co-captain of the Dartmouth football team, and Craig Schlapprizzi '06, who were among a group of three men arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery after a summer incident in Chicago, are scheduled to appear at a court hearing this week.
Rabil, a defensive tackle, was arrested at 1 a.m. on July 15, after he allegedly punched a 40-year-old man during a verbal altercation that started inside Tilli's Restaurant on North Halsted Street, according to Robin Mohr, spokeswoman for the Chicago Police Department.
Mohr indicated that Rabil was assisted by "a friend," but refused to state the identity of the second assailant. Because the alleged event is classed as a misdemeanor, police refused to release the full arrest report.
Schlapprizzi, a former Big Green linebacker, was also charged following the incident, along with 22 year-old Anthony Sansone of St. Louis, who police said were involved in separate exchanges with two other men.
According to a signed complaint, Sansone punched a 35-year-old man and knocked him to the ground.
All three victims were apparently treated and released from the Illinois Masonic Hospital, although the police report gave no details about the severity of the victims' injuries.
According to the Valley News, the next hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, pending review of medical records by the defense. After that, the trial date may be set for November or December.
Jack Rimland, the defense attorney for Rabil, Schlapprizzi and Sansone, said in an interview with The Dartmouth that he had advised his clients not to comment on the case.
Rimland insisted that his clients acted in self-defense and that the provocations of the accusers caused his clients to "respond in kind."
"Their conduct was justified because they were provoked," Rimland said. "I am confident that at trial all three will be acquitted."
If convicted of misdemeanor battery under Illinois law, the defendants could face penalties ranging from supervision up to 364 days in jail.
Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens '79 said that he knew about the incident the day after it occurred, but decided that he would not take any action until someone had been proven guilty.
"I learned of the situation and felt that it was something I didn't need to move on," Teevens said Tuesday. "I try to be as fair-minded as possible."
Teevens said that while his policies on disciplinary issues are often "more stringent than the institution's," he fully expects all three men to be acquitted.
Rabil played in Dartmouth's first three games this season, but is currently sitting out with a fractured foot, an injury he suffered in Dartmouth's game against the University of Pennsylvania on Sept. 30. Teevens said that he is unsure as to whether Rabil will be able to return later in the season.
There have been several violent incidents involving Ivy League players during the 2006 football season.
After last weekend's homecoming football game between Dartmouth and Holy Cross, a brawl broke out at midfield between the two teams as the players were lining up for the customary post-game handshake.
Police Chief Nick Giaccone told the Associated Press that "We'd separate one group, and then it would start up again with another group.
"We'd get to that place and it would keep rolling, and a third fight would break out before it finally stopped," he said.
Arrests or college disciplinary actions are possible, pending further investigation.
On Oct. 1, Yale University running back Mike McLeod and quarterback Matthew Polhemus were involved in a fight last Sunday morning in New Haven, Conn. along with several members of the Bulldogs' hockey team.
McLeod was arrested and charged with breach of the peace in the second degree and criminal mischief in the third degree. Polhemus received just one count of breach of the peace in the second degree. Charges against both were later dropped.
In January of 2004, four Dartmouth football players spending their winter term at the University of California-Santa Barbara were arrested on charges of home invasion after entering an Isla Vista, Calif. home following a dispute at a party.
The Dartmouth men allegedly forced open an unlocked door and began yelling and throwing cups of beer at people in the house.
Rabil was found not guilty after a court hearing. Following that hearing, the College also rescinded its previous allegations against Rabil in May 2007.
