Question about a past incident involving football players.

[northgajacket]

I was reading an old Sports Illustrated when I came across an article detailing an incident at a pizza parlor in 1989 involving Tech players Mike Mooney, Jim Lavin and Kevin Salisbury. I tried to do more research on the incident but found minimal information. I was just curious about what happened and if there is anymore information besides the basic facts I know about already. I understand this is not a positive moment and I also understand that it happened a long time ago so I understand if the thread gets deleted.

Thanks in advance for any information.

 

[A Love Supreme]

Fake news

 

[awbuzz]

IIRC happened at "Excelsior Mill". Was restaurant and bar and movie place. Later became "The Masquerade" Off of North Avenue just south of the old Sears building. Now Ponce City Market... I think. It is on the right side of the road if headed east on North Avenue. Found a link to some inforatmion about the building http://returntoatl.blogspot.com/2012/02/excelsior-mill-masquerade.html

I can't find anything in some online archives...

Regarding "the incident"... Beer was involved (no surprise)
Girl got pushed/punched in the face after she and her "friends" got up in the players faces and giving them grief.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

IIRC happened at "Excelsior Mill". Was restaurant and bar and movie place. Later became "The Masquerade" Off of North Avenue just south of the old Sears building. Now Ponce City Market... I think. It is on the right side of the road if headed east on North Avenue. Found a link to some inforatmion about the building http://returntoatl.blogspot.com/2012/02/excelsior-mill-masquerade.html

I can't find anything in some online archives...

Regarding "the incident"... Beer was involved (no surprise)
Girl got pushed/punched in the face after she and her "friends" got up in the players faces and giving them grief.

I remember the incident, I was a student in the late 80's, but I can't remember the details. I remember it being a girl, like you say, but I don't think it was at the Excelsior Mill. There was a pizza place much closer to campus back then. I can't remember the name of it but it was on the east side of 75/85, but not far from the tunnel.

 

[bartoma]

I think that was the Tunnel Pub, and yes, I think a girl got punched...

 

[strong90]

Let it go.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

The folks assaulted were called women, but they were uGA football players. We had just beat them again in football, and so the AJC was referring to them in the feminine gender just to rub it in.

 

[CTJacket]

The girl was punched accidentally IIRC. Something like she stepped in front of her boyfriend who was starting something with Salisbury. It definitely got blown out of proportion and I know it affected Salisbury who was made out to be a monster. Mooney and Lavin were really good guys (knew them both personally, RIP MM) and definitely not troublemakers.

 

[northgajacket]

The girl was punched accidentally IIRC. Something like she stepped in front of her boyfriend who was starting something with Salisbury. It definitely got blown out of proportion and I know it affected Salisbury who was made out to be a monster. Mooney and Lavin were really good guys (knew them both personally, RIP MM) and definitely not troublemakers.

Sounds like boyfriend decided to play "Bad ***" to impress his girl and ended up on the losing side. I knew Coach Ross gave them "soft" punishment for the incident and the media made a huge deal about the fact that Lavin and Mooney never missed a game, but it sounds like they were being harassed and things just went too far. I figured the media blew it out of proportion that is why I wanted to know from those who would remember the incident. Thanks to all who answered. I know it was a long time ago, but I was just curious.

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

The girl was punched accidentally IIRC. Something like she stepped in front of her boyfriend who was starting something with Salisbury. It definitely got blown out of proportion and I know it affected Salisbury who was made out to be a monster. Mooney and Lavin were really good guys (knew them both personally, RIP MM) and definitely not troublemakers.

This.

 

[forensicbuzz]

The girl was punched accidentally IIRC. Something like she stepped in front of her boyfriend who was starting something with Salisbury. It definitely got blown out of proportion and I know it affected Salisbury who was made out to be a monster. Mooney and Lavin were really good guys (knew them both personally, RIP MM) and definitely not troublemakers.

I happened to be about 15 feet from the incident in question. Didn't see it all, but part of it. I was not necessarily sober at the time, but this is what I remember from almost 30 years ago: Drunk girl starts fight with football player leaning against the bar by slapping him because they were blocking her access to the bar, drunk boyfriend bows up to football players, can't remember for sure, but think the boyfriend takes a swing at Salisbury, who swung back. Girlfriend jumped in front of boyfriend, and took the punch. As I remember it, it was more a jab than a cross or roundhouse, so not a huge punch. It ended very quickly at that point because everyone saw it and everyone knew it was accidental. Later the media vilified Salisbury.

 

[redmule]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but it has triggered something in my memory. I seem to remember us having an OL back in the 90's that was thrown thru a plate glass window in a bar and was cut really bad. He had to sit out because of his injuries and then transferred to Florida and was a good OL for them. Anybody else have a similar recollection?

 

[northgajacket]

I happened to be about 15 feet from the incident in question. Didn't see it all, but part of it. I was not necessarily sober at the time, but this is what I remember from almost 30 years ago: Drunk girl starts fight with football player leaning against the bar by slapping him because they were blocking her access to the bar, drunk boyfriend bows up to football players, can't remember for sure, but think the boyfriend takes a swing at Salisbury, who swung back. Girlfriend jumped in front of boyfriend, and took the punch. As I remember it, it was more a jab than a cross or roundhouse, so not a huge punch. It ended very quickly at that point because everyone saw it and everyone knew it was accidental. Later the media vilified Salisbury.

Thanks for the info.

Sports Illustrated tried to make it sound like the girl was minding her own business and the football players were harassing her group to the point where she threw beer at Mooney because he allegedly was the ringleader.

 

[Dustman]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but it has triggered something in my memory. I seem to remember us having an OL back in the 90's that was thrown thru a plate glass window in a bar and was cut really bad. He had to sit out because of his injuries and then transferred to Florida and was a good OL for them. Anybody else have a similar recollection?

Zach Piller?

 

[augustabuzz]

Thanks for the info.

Sports Illustrated tried to make it sound like the girl was minding her own business and the football players were harassing her group to the point where she threw beer at Mooney because he allegedly was the ringleader.

IIRC her suit was never argued after her background was discovered.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Yeah Zach was a good player but I think he stayed in the dog house with some of the coaches, perhaps O'Leary. I think he was in a fight when he went through the window. Whoever knocked him through the window must have been a bad***!

Go Jackets!

 

[northgajacket]

IIRC her suit was never argued after her background was discovered.

Background?

 

[JazzyD95]

my dad was a tech student at the time and participated in the brawl... the way he tells it, Moony punched a girl in the face, and his knee jerk reaction was to smash his beer mug on the back of Moony's head... his immediate reaction after that was "oh **** this guy is huge, what did I just do" as the brawl escalated. Police come and detain everyone including my dad, but later let him go as they zero'd into who started the brawl

 

[awbuzz]

Well my memory as to the where was wrong, but do recall a mug being busted on someone's head...

 

[augustabuzz]

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1990-11-16/sports/1990320203_1_mooney-jim-lavin-georgia-tech