The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
School board candidate faces allegations
Police escorted Mullins from a Saline wrestling tourney after threats
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 21, 2008
Police escorted a candidate for the Saline school board from a wrestling tournament at Saline High School Saturday morning after he had a run-in with a school district administrator.
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John Mullins, who Feb. 13 filed to run for one of two available seats on the school board, believes Athletic Director Rob White purposely targeted him to instigate an incident.
"I'm running for school board and they're trying to discredit me," Mullins said.
In a district incident report prepared by White and obtained by The Saline Reporter through the Freedom of Information Act, White alleges Mullins cursed at him, shoved him and threatened his children after White approached Mullins about failing to pay the tournament's $5 admittance fee.
White said Monday he intends to pursue assault charges with the police.
Mullins, however, denies White's claims and says the athletic director refused to accept the fee when he offered it and instead instructed police officers from the Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety to escort him out of the school.
In an e-mail to Interim Superintendent Scot Graden on Monday, Mullins wrote, "(White) staged an event in an attempt to deliberately embarrass my family in front of friends and the school."
He went on: "It is our impression that (White) is looking to set us up and discredit and humiliate us once again. (White's) motivation and intent are discriminatory, retaliatory deceptive and hostile."
According to the incident report, White approached Mullins, 49, and his wife, Tanny, in the stands after learning they had not paid the admittance fee.
Mullins, according to White's account, demanded to "go somewhere to talk" and the two walked up the stairs of the bleachers to the track by the weight room.
There, according to White, Mullins backed him into an alcove, swore at him and shoved him with one hand.
White says after he told Mullins that he needed to leave the building Mullins said, "Do you have kids? They better watch out." White took the statement as a threat.
Two police officers, whom White says he put on alert before he approached the Mullinses because he was concerned about his safety should they become confrontational, arrived to lead Mullins from the gym.
In his e-mail to Graden, Mullins said he tried to explain to White that he and his wife were volunteering at the event and were there to ensure the safety of their son, who was not competing but was volunteering, as well, and is subject to seizures.
White says he told the Mullinses that all volunteers except those working the mat area were required to pay the admission fee because the individual district tournament was sponsored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
According to the incident report, the confrontation on Saturday was the second of two encounters between White and Mullins in the span of two days. The first occurred at a wrestling tournament Feb. 14 at the high school when White approached the Mullinses about paying the admission fee.
The Mullinses have had a rocky relationship with the school district for several years, leveling charges against the athletic department and becoming embroiled in a lawsuit about four years ago when the district attempted to ban them from wrestling meets. They were also at the center of the controversy surrounding the cancellation of the freshman football team's season last year, charging that coaches disregarded their son's health and denied him water.
Calling for changes in the student athletic policy and the board's governance model, John Mullins ran unsuccessfully for school board four years ago.
White said he intends to seek a personal protection order against Mullins, saying he believes Mullins "is a threat to me personally and to my family."
Graden said Wednesday morning that the district was in consultation with its lawyers concerning its available options in light of Saturday's incident.
"We are taking this very seriously," he said, adding he expected the district to take further measures Wednesday, which could include banning Mullins from school property pending the outcome of a police investigation.
Mullins asked Graden in his e-mail to "call off the dogs and leave our family alone."
He concluded his e-mail by saying, "We apologize in advance for involving you (Graden) and hope that you can bring this matter to closure so we can continue to attempt to heal and move on."
Staff Writer Brian Cox can be reached at 429-7380 or bcox@heritage.com.
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