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CU linebacker sued over University Hill assault
Student wants to recover damages in June 2007 altercation
CORRECTION (6/24/08): Due to incorrect information provided, this story incorrectly reported that former University of Colorado football player Christopher Perri was dismissed from the team. He left voluntarily.
Rachel Berns
University of Colorado sophomore linebacker Michael Sipili, right, and his attorney, Lou Rubino, walk into the Boulder County Justice Center on Aug. 16, 2007.
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The man who was punched out by Colorado linebacker Michael Sipili a year ago has sued the Buffs player and an ex-teammate for damages related to the attack.
John Antrim, a University of Colorado student who had to have three metal plates inserted into his face as a result of the assault, also sued former Buffs defensive lineman Christopher Perri for his alleged role in instigating the attack.
The suit, filed this week in Boulder District Court, asks that a jury determine damages in the case, which Antrim’s lawyers say include traumatic brain injury and long-term disfigurement.
“My guy has got some serious injuries and we’re just a year out (from the incident) and the long-term consequences from them are still in flux,” Ross Buchanan, Antrim’s lawyer, said today. “We’re seeking fair and adequate compensation for John’s injuries.”
Buchanan said Sipili essentially broke Antrim’s eye socket.
Attempts to reach both Sipili and Perri were unsuccessful today. Lou Rubino, Sipili’s lawyer, declined to comment.
According to the lawsuit, then 22-year-old Antrim was walking with friends on University Hill in the early morning hours of June 16 when Perri got into an argument with a female friend in Antrim’s group and knocked her to the ground.
In responding to the incident, Antrim said he was knocked over as well and beaten repeatedly by Sipili.
Several details of the encounter — as stipulated in the lawsuit — differ from what a police report said about the incident.
According to the report, the two players crossed paths with a group of five people, several of whom were intoxicated.
Police say Perri got into a dispute with Courtney Niemtschk and that she ended up getting knocked to the ground.
Niemtschk’s friend, James Terry, tackled Perri at that point, according to police. Antrim, who had walked ahead of the group, ran back to help his friends, the report said.
That’s when Sipili and Antrim began fighting, according to the report. Sipili told police Antrim attacked him, while Antrim claimed he was set upon by several people, one of whom got on top of him and punched him repeatedly in the face.
Sipili, who is from Hawaii and will be a junior this fall, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in September and was sentenced to four days on a Boulder County Jail work crew, 80 hours of community service and two years of probation.
He also was suspended from both the university and the football team last fall, but was reinstated to the roster earlier this year. He is expected to be a starter this fall.
Perri received a three-game suspension for his role in the incident.
Dave Plati, CU sports information director, said today that Perri was dismissed from the team at the beginning of the year for having too many team violations.
Posted by shoulder2shoulder on June 20, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Here we go, knew this was coming
Posted by choderlos1741 on June 20, 2008 at 11:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What a pathetic liar. Hopefully Sipili's lawyers can get this case moved out of boulder so a sane jury can hear this nonsense.
Posted by flabuff227 on June 20, 2008 at 11:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I see a lot of trolls coming in and spreading their 2 cents about this one.
Posted by skipples4u on June 20, 2008 at 11:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
this is bs man. let the kid have his life back. he made a mistake, don't make him pay twice.. the kid likely going after some money he wil make in the NFL in 2 years, what a joke
Posted by Ralphie2 on June 20, 2008 at 2:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oy vey.
Posted by skipples4u on June 20, 2008 at 2:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
thats because they don't give special treatment to football players like they do in lincoln
Posted by BuffSteve on June 20, 2008 at 4:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If Sipili did crush his eye socket and cause enough damage to require 3 surgeries shouldn't he be held responsible for some of the medical bills? If it were any of us getting our face punched in wouldn't we likely do the same? Just wondering.
Posted by bufffan8 on June 20, 2008 at 5:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Possibly the kid's medical insurance company is pushing the suit. I don't know that much about these types of things but that seems reasonable to me. Or maybe he didn't have insurance. who knows.
Posted by GoldenBoy on June 21, 2008 at 12:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i strongly agree with buffsteve
Posted by BuffJohn on June 21, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If you get into a fight, aren't you responsible for what happens to yourself? I am waiting for someone to take responsibility for themselves...realize you got beat up, pay the dr's and get on with your life! It's not like Sipili chased him down, this guy got involved.
Posted by rswright on June 21, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Go for it, BuffJohn! Take your brain injury, the three plates in your head, and your 30,000 plus medical bills and as you say "...get on with your life". Another frivolous lawsuit in a long line of frivolous lawsuits i.e. the the girls who claimed they got raped. The payment was not because they were raped but because CU just handled it badly so it decided to pay them 2.3 million. So now there is another lawsuit but we all know the reason, its
because of prejudice against football players. There is a long tradition of violence against football players at CU i.e. Duren,Geer and Katoa. Don't they realize kids will be kids. If they made a mistake it was not that they pushed a kid's head through the wall but that the lacked the self control to call the police and tell them they were being picked on. Don't these guys realize when they are having their jaw wired, that football players are only kids and kids will be kids. Hasn't Siplili already paid his debt by being on a work crew for four days. Talk about double jeopardy. But in the long run, the important thing is not to let a lawsuit for hundreds of thousands of dollars hanging over your head interfere with the team. Remember we have a lot of posters who are on your side and who are willing to step up and pay the damages, just like they paid off Barnett.
Posted by rodrigo on June 22, 2008 at 6:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
rs, take a breath, peanut.
Sipili is being sued, not the university. If the guy he punched wins, Sipili will pay, not the university.
Posted by extrapoint on June 22, 2008 at 10:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
rswright is a guy who never donated a dime ....even to his beloved tennis program.
And he is squawking about University expenditures?
This guy is so off his rocker he is becoming scarier than a beserk football player. We better get a police profiler to work on him and put him away before he becomes "guilty."
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