Details have emerged in the reasoning behind Michigan senior Zavier Simpson’s one-game suspension last month — and they’re pretty fucking hilarious.
According to a freedom of information act, Simpson was suspended after crashing the car of athletic director Warde Manuel’s wife after the team’s loss to Illinois.
But that’s not even the juicy part.
Simpson lied to the police about his identity saying his name was Jeff Jackson Simpson and that he was walking down the street when he noticed the crashed car at the corner of Hill Street and South Forest Avenue at 3:03 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 26.
Police initially didn’t fall for Simpon’s bout of mistaken identity after recognizing him as the Michigan basketball senior.
According to the report too, Simpson was noticed stumbling when entering the car to retrieve his identification but the officers on the scene didn’t smell any alcohol on his breath and simply wrote him a citation.
via Mlive.com:
Officers later spoke with Chrislan Manuel, the wife of the athletic director and registered owner of the car, who spoke with Evan and relayed to police that Simpson was in fact the driver, police reported. When interviewed the next day by an investigator, Simpson said he drove the car into a utility pole due to icy conditions, according to the police report.
Simpson told police he was the only person in the car when the accident occurred. He was issued a traffic citation for driving too fast for conditions, police said Thursday.
The team announced Simpson’s suspension Jan. 27, the day after the crash. Simpson missed the Wolverines’ Jan. 28 road game at Nebraska as a result.
Michigan head coach Juwan Howard later reinstated Simpson on January 31 after a conversation with Warde Manuel.
Zavier (not Jeff) also released a statement on the incident:
“This past weekend, I made some disappointing decisions which violated our team rules,” Simpson said in a statement that Friday. “I accept full responsibility and having to sit out the Nebraska game was part of that. I deserved it and fully supported coach Howard’s decision. Not being with my teammates made it a long night, however, it gave me the time to reflect.
“I know I let my coaches, teammates, and fans down as well as athletic department and community members. More importantly, I let myself and family down. They say you learn something new, or from something, every day and this is one of those times.
“I have apologized to my team and now apologize to everyone who continues to support me as well as our program. I am grateful for the opportunity to get back on the court Saturday and to represent this great university.”
At this point, Howard didn’t state what steps were taken to get Simpson reinstated — if any were actually required — only saying that that information will be kept internal. And with that, it would seem as the case is now closed.
