Fox to go on trial for incident

Thursday, an Oakland County judge ruled that former Michigan hockey player Chris Fox will stand trial for an incident in a recreational league game that took place last summer.

Assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder is the charge, and if convicted, the recent LSA graduate could face up to 10 years in prison.

Fox had been struck by an opponent in the game, but events after the hit on Fox are muddled by different testimonies.

Fox

Robert Thomas, Fox's accuser, said he was skating back to his bench when Fox hit him in the mouth with the blade of his stick, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Gregg Malicke, Fox's teammate on the summer-league team and the Michigan hockey team, testified that Fox hit Thomas accidentally, having been dazed by the hit he received earlier.

Rick Perry, the referee who ejected Fox, corroborated Thomas' story. He is also quoted in the Free Press as saying that Fox challenged Thomas' teammates after he hit Thomas.

Thomas lost two teeth in the incident and underwent oral surgery several times. Fox required 15 stitches to close a gash on his cheek.

The incident occurred on June 15, 1997, at the Detroit Skate Club in Bloomfield Hills. But Fox's arraignment was not held until Jan. 7, 1998. The delay in the arraignment raised questions in the Michigan hockey program after the charges were filed.

The day after the arraignment, Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson expressed displeasure with the timing of the charges, saying it made Fox seem "like he's been on the loose for all this time like a criminal. They knew who he was and where he was from the day he left the rink," Berenson said.

Berenson came down in full support of Fox after the initial charges were filed, and the defenseman was never suspended by Berenson or the Athletic Department.

Fox "has been a model player ... the alleged incident is not the Chris Fox I know," Berenson said.

When the initial charges were filed, James Halushka, chief of warrants and investigations in the Oakland County Prosecutor's office, described the attack as "cowardly," and said that Fox singled out the smallest player on the ice.

05-11-98