Michigan AD Bill Martin expresses regret to students who say he assaulted them at stadium

By LARRY LAGE , Associated Press

Last update: November 9, 2009 - 7:37 PM

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan athletic director Bill Martin pushed a student and grabbed the wind breaker of another student during two football games, according to a department of public safety report.

Michigan student Jackie Turner says she told Martin he needed a pass to enter the regents guest area of the press box Sept. 12 during a game against Notre Dame. She said he pushed her shoulder and walked past her.

"Honey, I am the athletic director," Turner quoted him as saying, according to a university report on the incident.

On Oct. 17, Eastern Michigan student Arif Khan said he told Martin and a female companion they needed passes to enter the area after a game against Delaware State. Khan said Martin grabbed his jacket.

"I am the athletic director, I can go in," Khan quoted Martin as telling him.

Turner and Khan were interviewed on Oct. 18, three days before Martin announced he would retire in September.

The students said they were uninjured and did not want to press charges.

"I contacted those involved to discuss the situation and express my regret," Martin said in a statement released by the school Monday night. "I know they were just doing their jobs."

Martin, who became Michigan's athletic director in 2000 on an interim basis, announced his retirement in a letter to university president Mary Sue Coleman.

"Being the Michigan AD is not just a job, it's a way of life and one I have embraced full force," Martin wrote in the letter made public Oct. 21.

Coleman has said Martin will remain as AD until a successor is chosen and then he will remain a special adviser to her until retiring.

Domino's Pizza Inc. CEO David Brandon, a former Michigan football player and regent at the school, is among the candidates to succeed Martin.

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