SB Nation Atlanta - Add Solomon Jones To The List Of Former Atlanta Hawks Rashan Michel Tried To Fight

Add Solomon Jones To The List Of Former Atlanta Hawks That Rashan Michel Tried To Fight

2011-04-08T04:35:15Z

You kind of wonder whether former NBA ref Rashan Michel should have gone pro in boxing instead.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Dominique Wilkins (and Dion Glover, according to Twitter lore) weren't the only former Atlanta Hawk that the cantankerous clothier Michel has threatened to collect an alleged unpaid debt. According to a police report obtained by the newspaper, then rookie Hawks big Solomon Jones allegedly received unsolicited "business attire" from Michel.

However, the tormented tailor cornered Jones cornered Jones' dad after a Hawks game in January of 2007 to talk about collecting $12,000 for the goods. When Jones came to the Philips Arena court to check on what the argument was about, Michel purportedly threatened the Atlanta Hawks forward.

Jones filed an incident report with the police after the incident, according to the AJC report.

The former NBA ref told Jones "that he didn't need to handle the situation civilly, but would take care of (Jones) with 'street justice, take care of this problem out in the street!" according to the incident report.

Jones is the third former Hawk that Michel has had a beef with. The other two times, things reportedly came to blows, with Michel reportedly ending up more like Michael Spinks than Mike Tyson.

Michel's right eye was swollen after his altercation with Wilkins. "The Human Highlight Film" landed three punches while Michel didn't land any worthwhile blow according to NBA.com Sekou Smith's twitter account.

For more on the Hawks, join Peachtree Hoops.

Dominique Wilkins Won't Be Charged For Role In Rashan Michel Fight

2011-04-06T22:35:26Z

Dominique Wilkins won’t face charges for last week’s fight at Philips Arena with former NBA referee Rashan Michel, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Kristi E. Swartz and Michael Cunningham report. Though that report once again cites the briefly popular parody Michel Twitter account as being real, we can trust the rest of the information is valid.

From the only surfaced video of the scrap, it isn’t clear who initiated the violence, though it’s very clearly Wilkins who ended it. Michel has claimed Wilkins started the whole thing, but apparently that’s not the case.

This story isn’t quite over yet, thank the good Lord above. There’s still the matter of a law suit to deal with. If you’ve never paid attention to a law suit involving two men who’ve publicly swung on each other in public as citizen journalists record, I very highly recommend it. A true Southern delicacy.

For more Hawks, visit Peachtree Hoops.

You Guys Realize That Rashan Michel Twitter Account Is Fake, Right?

2011-04-01T11:30:18Z

A Twitter account attributed to Rashan Michel, the ex-NBA referee who was arrested after a fight with Dominique Wilkins, is getting a lot of press this week. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has cited it as being Michel's account, which may have led others like Bleacher Report to trust its validity. But I'm pretty sure this thing is totally fake, as has been alleged by many others.

(Video and details of the Wilkins-Michel bout, if that's what you're looking for.)

Here's why, if we must, besides the obvious fact that the thing was started up about three hours after Michel was arrested, which means we're expecting Atlanta PD to really churn through the booking of a guy who just punched the city's most beloved basketball player:

First, there's this tweet. @RashanMichel tweets "its easy" in response to the question "how can u attack the #humanhighlightfilm Dominique Wilkins?" Since Michel has publicly claimed Wilkins opened fire first, wouldn't he refer to his actions as defensive rather than offensive?

There's also the matter of the only two accounts the subject follows: the NBA and Tim Donaghy. If you were setting up a fake profile for a NBA referee, would you have it follow a NBA referee? Maybe the only NBA referee you'd ever heard of? That'd be a great idea. Judging by Michel's Myspace and Facebook he's a pretty popular guy. Why doesn't he follow any of his friends on Twitter?

The account claims to have been arraigned -- if you've seen a movie with a court scene, arraignment is the part where the defendant pleads guilty or not guilty before a judge. Which Atlanta judge rolled out of bed at midnight in order to have Michel back home and on Twitter by 3 a.m.?

Besides the fact that there's a tweet in bad Atlantan, there's also a tweet in good Dutch. Dutch? I could go on. Every tweet is suspect.

I'm all for fake Twitter accounts when they're funny, and this one has certainly amused many people. This is funny, period. But if this thing is real, I'll try and start a public fight with a treasured local athlete in his home arena.

Rashan Michel Is Suing Dominique Wilkins In Fulton County State Court

2011-04-01T01:34:21Z

As if the story of the fight between former NBA official Rashan Michel and NBA great Dominique Wilkins wasn't odd enough, it gets even stranger.

This feud's been going on for quite a while.

Court records from Fulton County State Court indicate that Michel filed a lawsuit against Wilkins for the alleged unpaid clothing on April 23, 2010. According to 11Alive.com, Michel claimed that Wilkins owes him $12,072 for six suits, which he sold to "The Human Highlight Film" between January and May of 2009.

Each suit cost $1,500. Michel added a 20-percent late fee for the overdue balance and socked the NBA Hall of Famer with Fulton County's 9-percent sales tax and a $300 shipping and handling fee as part of the transaction, according to a document posted on the television station's website.

It's kind of shocking that with a lawsuit pending, that Michel would approach Wilkins, more or less allegedly try to cold-cock the former Atlanta Hawks star.

Wilkins got the better of Michel on Wednesday night, landing a couple of blows to the trouble-making tailor's face in a fracas that was caught on video. It remains to be seen who will win in a court of law.

VIDEO: Dominique Wilkins, Rashan Michel Fighting At Philips Arena After Hawks Game

2011-03-31T18:46:33Z

TMZ has video of Atlanta Hawks Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins dealing damage during his impromptu Wednesday night fight with former NBA referee Rashan Michel. From the footage, it appears Wilkins and at least one security guard have Michel pinned to a row of seats as Wilkins rears back to throw a heavy right, connecting solidly.

After the brief fight, security guards separate the two. I may be getting the two pugilists confused, as the video is shot from very far away, but it looks like Wilkins is walked out to the court, where he throws his coat on the floor and removes his tie while jawing back at Michel, who’s also being corralled by security.

Fans are lingering in the Philips Arena seats, many of them very aware of what’s going on. Several point out Wilkins by name during and after the fight.

For more on the Hawks, join Peachtree Hoops.

Rashan Michel Plans To Sue Dominique Wilkins, Hawks After Philips Arena Fight

2011-03-31T17:37:30Z

You try to collect an alleged debt, purportedly throw a punch and get absolutely destroyed by an NBA legend. So what are you going to do Rashan Michel? Sue, of course. It's the American way.

Michel told the gossip site TMZ that Dominique Wilkins threw the first punch in the altercation that left the wannabe clothing tycoon in jail, sporting a nice shiner after the conclusion of the Atlanta Hawks' win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night at Philips Arena.

The former NBA ref told the website that he calmly approached "The Human Highlight Film" in an effort to try to work out a payment plan for the $13,000 that 'Nique allegedly owed him for some custom suits. Wilkins responded by hurling an expletive followed by the word you at Michel. Security followed with the take down.

It was only then, Michel claims that 'Nique landed a few sucker punches on Atlanta's most infamous tailor.

The 36-year-old Michel, who spent part of the night in the Fulton County Jail, plans on suing Wilkins and the Hawks and will seek to subpoena the surveillance footage of the beatdown.

Something tells me that the owners of the Hawks -- the Atlanta Spirit -- know a thing or two about lawsuits and will have no problem defending this one.

But if you do manage to get a hold of the surveillance tapes, Mr. Michel, we'd love to see them here at Atlanta SB Nation. We'll make sure that the incident of your brutal beatdown by an NBA legend goes viral around the Internet.

Rashan Michel: Dominique Wilkins Threw First Punch

2011-03-31T16:24:32Z

Former NBA referee Rashan Michel is out of jail and telling his story about his altercation with former Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins around town.

The 36-year-old Michel, who was the youngest NBA referee ever when he was nabbed as a ref at 23 in the 1997-98 season, told V-103's Frank and Wanda Morning Show that "The Human Highlight Factory" owed him thousands of dollars for some suits he bought.

"He said he was approaching Dominique because Dominique owed him about $13,000 and wasn't paying for the suits, but the security guard grabbed him and after that Dominique punched him first, and he responded," V103 DJ Frank Ski told the AJC, when recapping the interview.

Michel may have also taken his debt war to Twitter.

Yes, I posted bail, and why the hell are you guys chatting about me, you don't even remember that call that helped the#NBA get rid of me...

An account claiming to be Michel's allegedly fired off on the popular social networking website.

I call what happened at Phillips Arena earlier, Operation Repo...next time have my money!

The purported Michael account, which used part of this picture that was also posted on SB Atlanta, also fired off a few direct shots at Dominique Wilkins' Twitter account, telling @DWilkins21: "watch ur back cuz!" and "pay your debts poser."

This may not be the first time that Michel has tried the beat down to get some money. Former Hawks guard Dion Glover at a Real Housewives of Atlanta event last year. That didn't work out too well, either.

Rashan Michel Fought Dion Glover At Real Housewives Of Atlanta Event, According To Twitter

2011-03-31T15:52:26Z

Apparently Rashan Michel, the former NBA referee who tried to fight Dominique Wilkins after last night's Atlanta Hawks game, has a history of rolling up on Atlanta basketball players in public, trying to get money for suits. ESPN's Bomani Jones and others on Twitter are sharing stories of Michel trying the same thing (with the same result) on former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets star Dion Glover at a Real Housewives Of Atlanta screening at Luckie Lounge a few years ago.

Glover also played a few years for the Hawks, and was born and raised in Atlanta.

I can't find any published stories about the supposed fight between Michel and Glover, but plenty of people are bringing up the incident at the first mention of Michel's name. Could be a rumor or legend, but there are a lot of consistent details in there.

What kind of a business model is this? Hand out a suit to an athlete, go to publicly collect in person without sufficient crew, and get dropped? No wonder Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens once publicly complained about this guy.