Former Gophers QB Phillip Nelson arrested in his hometown of Mankato for assault

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I've seen people on the ground kicked in the body, but to actually kick a down person in the head is something else. There is definitely an intent to injure severely.
 

I agree with both sides of this discussion. Lives can change very quickly. Good people can make terrible mistakes in split seconds. But that doesn't exclude them from punishment.
 


oleboy41 said:
Terrible situation. I do find the moralizing silly. Most people are capable of horrible acts if they're in a particular situation. I tell my kids that most 'mistakes' occur after a series of smaller mistakes. Its how seemingly loving husbands cheat on their wives as they made a bunch of small poor choices. Flirting, allowing yourself to be in a position to mess up, etc. Going to a bar with immature friends, drinking excessively and allowing yourself to get into a public argument are all poor choices. Its not hard to see how someone who may be inebriated could snap and kick a man while he's down. I've seen it happen. Lets not try to put ourselves on a pedestal above Nelson. Rather I pray that the other kid makes a full recovery and that maybe someone sees this story and walks away from the next fight.
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Don't know what happened in Mankato. Do know that people do things that are "out of character" because of many things, peer pressure, getting swept-up in the moment, crowd "mentality" etc. Booze though? Alcohol? Alcohol releases inhibitions, it doesn't create a "new" personality, it revels the personality that is there. The personality that the conscious mind is keeping under control, in check.

The old cliche of "he only acts like that when he drinks" is true. The thing is the drunken personality is the true personality, not the other way around. Many people have come to grips with that and limit or eliminate their alcohol input. Pretending it's "just the booze" talking is just plain wrong.

(There you go Dean.)

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I'm not a big fan of "holier than thou" but it seems like the only alternative here is "dumber than thou".
 



Fuzzy Rumpton said:
I've seen people on the ground kicked in the body, but to actually kick a down person in the head is something else. There is definitely an intent to injure severely.
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Seriously...that isn't even legal in UFC cage fights.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Fuzzy Rumpton said:
I've seen people on the ground kicked in the body, but to actually kick a down person in the head is something else. There is definitely an intent to injure severely.
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Glad to have not shared your experience.
 

From the information on the Caring Bridge site Nelson has a near zero chance that the charge stays as Third Degree Assault. I checked the Sentencing Guidelines for First Degree Assault which is a level 9 offense, it gives a 72 to 106 month window with and expected 84 months, assuming an offender score of zero.
 



Wow. I've been in one bar fight and I lost. Within 15 seconds we were separated. Was nobody else around? That's either Nelson being a psychopath or very low will power to restrain his anger. I'm a big believer in facing consequences, and he will.

I hope you recover Isaac. Be strong buddy.
 

GopherSteak said:
Wow. I've been in one bar fight and I lost. Within 15 seconds we were separated. Was nobody else around? That's either Nelson being a psychopath or very low will power to restrain his anger. I'm a big believer in facing consequences, and he will.

I hope you recover Isaac. Be strong buddy.
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The problem is this fight was outside from the sounds of it, so no bouncers were there to break anything up, or prevent it from escalating. Also a lot of things can happen during a fight in 15 seconds, especially when a big group of people is involved.

Ditto on the good wishes to Isaac! Sounds like he has a long road ahead of him...
 

nsmike said:
it gives a 72 to 106 month window with and expected 84 months, assuming an offender score of zero.
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Sounds about right if the allegations are true, and Isaac pulls through. If, God forbid, he doesn't, it should be a lot longer. I have very little sympathy for Nelson. Most people, myself included, spend plenty of time getting drunk when they're 20 and manage not to ruin or possibly end someone's life. He's not a kid, he's a grown man and alcohol is not an excuse for that kind of thing, or any malevolent behavior at that.
 





I'm no lawyer but just to play devil's advocate, I think the prosecution is going to have to prove it was Nelson's kick that caused the injury. The defense will undoubtedly point to the other guy giving the KO punch & slamming head into the concrete as what caused the injury. Also, it was dark/night time & the witnesses were likely drinking. Factor in that Nelson has no priors to my knowledge & I doubt he's going to do 72 mos.
 

Updated article with quotes:

http://www.startribune.com/local/258923251.html

Witnesses say they saw two different people assault a former Minnesota State University, Mankato, football player early Sunday morning, first with a “sucker punch” and then with a single kick to the head.

The bars had just closed in downtown Mankato when “all of a sudden, this guy comes out of nowhere and sucker punches” Isaac Kolstad, according to Steph Stassen, 25, a graduate student who first ran to get police.

Kolstad is in critical condition with head injuries and former Gophers quarterback Philip Nelson has been arrested in connection with the assault. Police say they were looking for a second suspect. A 2 p.m. Monday news conference has been scheduled in Mankato.

Stassen and her roommate, Mackenzie Skay, said in interviews Monday they had left separate bars when they witnessed the assault in the intersection of Front and Cherry Streets near a cove of bars.

First, they saw some pushing and shoving and then the sucker punch, which they said did not come from Nelson but a different person in a black shirt.

“He [Kolstad] was knocked out on his feet,” Stassen said. “He fell straight back and smoked his head on the pavement.”

She said “the noise of him hitting his head was so loud.

“He didn’t try to brace himself or catch himself,” Stassen said.

A man she later learned was Nelson then kicked him once in the head “like it was a soccer ball — just out of nowhere.”

She said everyone was in shock about what had just happened and she ran to get a police officer she had seen minutes earlier. An ambulance arrived about five minutes later.

“He was unconscious after the first punch,” Skay said.

Stassen said there was “no doubt two separate people” were involved, one who delivered the sucker punch and the man later identified as Nelson who kicked Kolstad.
 

Kicking someone when they're down, and already out, from a sucker punch? And in the head? Intent to injure/kill. I hope these two cowards get the maximum.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
I'm no lawyer but just to play devil's advocate, I think the prosecution is going to have to prove it was Nelson's kick that caused the injury. The defense will undoubtedly point to the other guy giving the KO punch & slamming head into the concrete as what caused the injury. Also, it was dark/night time & the witnesses were likely drinking. Factor in that Nelson has no priors to my knowledge & I doubt he's going to do 72 mos.
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Also not a lawyer but reading the story that Curseislifted33 posted I agree it is going to be a tough case for the prosecution based on the account in the story at least. No doubt Nelson is guilty of assault (assuming it all proves out that he was the kicker) but it would seem very probable that the bulk of the injuries could have come from the sucker punch that knocked Kolstad out and the ensuing impact of hitting the pavement.

Getting a clear consistant account of what happened may also prove difficult as most of the witnesses had most likely been drinking and it happened at night. I am in no way trying to defend Nelson because it seems very clear he played a major role in what happened but given the other factors involved I think it is going to be very tough for the prosecution to try and get him on any sort of high level charge.

Of course all that changes if there is more concrete evidence or even video of the incident that surfaces in order to clear up a lot of the details. Any way you slice it this is a tragic story and all we can really hope for at this point is that Kolstad is able to make enough of recovery to still lead a long and happy life.
 

Awful story. I hope they catch the other kid who started it. But that does nothing to excuse what Nelson did, if true.
 

Curseislifted33 said:
Updated article with quotes:

http://www.startribune.com/local/258923251.html

Witnesses say they saw two different people assault a former Minnesota State University, Mankato, football player early Sunday morning, first with a “sucker punch” and then with a single kick to the head.

The bars had just closed in downtown Mankato when “all of a sudden, this guy comes out of nowhere and sucker punches” Isaac Kolstad, according to Steph Stassen, 25, a graduate student who first ran to get police.

Kolstad is in critical condition with head injuries and former Gophers quarterback Philip Nelson has been arrested in connection with the assault. Police say they were looking for a second suspect. A 2 p.m. Monday news conference has been scheduled in Mankato.

Stassen and her roommate, Mackenzie Skay, said in interviews Monday they had left separate bars when they witnessed the assault in the intersection of Front and Cherry Streets near a cove of bars.

First, they saw some pushing and shoving and then the sucker punch, which they said did not come from Nelson but a different person in a black shirt.

“He [Kolstad] was knocked out on his feet,” Stassen said. “He fell straight back and smoked his head on the pavement.”

She said “the noise of him hitting his head was so loud.

“He didn’t try to brace himself or catch himself,” Stassen said.

A man she later learned was Nelson then kicked him once in the head “like it was a soccer ball — just out of nowhere.”

She said everyone was in shock about what had just happened and she ran to get a police officer she had seen minutes earlier. An ambulance arrived about five minutes later.

“He was unconscious after the first punch,” Skay said.

Stassen said there was “no doubt two separate people” were involved, one who delivered the sucker punch and the man later identified as Nelson who kicked Kolstad.
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That makes me want to throw up.
 

Stcgopher's comments need to be called out for what they are - immature and ignorant. I am a 46 yr old father with kids, including sons. I have been in fights (none after college), and I am a former athlete, so I can hold my own. I regret every fight, and I teach my sons to walk away, for this very reason. You fight as a last resort, when you have to survive, not because someone "got up in your face". You don't fight because your ego got pricked. Stcgopher, I hope you fix your way of thinking. Phillip Nelson has basically tossed a hand grenade into a room - everyone is now injured because of it, including Phillip Nelson. Right now, I have to be honest and say Phillip Nelson's reputation would be my last concern. As a dad, this is a dumb, dumb dumb loss.
 

Indi1006 said:
Yes I was there a ton of times in the past. Two guys talking tough fueled by alcohol and then things escalate and there never are any winners; only losers.
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While I rarely agree with Indi...in this instance I do. I've been thrust into many situations, especially when alcohol is involved, that got out of hand. I am not one to lose control, but have been assaulted, jumped by multiple persons before and robbed at both knife and gun point. When the animal in us kicks in...it isn't something you can turn off so easily. Adrenaline is a kick and fight or flight is built into our dna. And when you are alone and two guys are holding your arms and a third is moving in for a head shot...you would be amazed at what your body can do and how little your conscious mind is in control for those brief moments. (Describing a personal situation, not what happened in Mankato)

This situation sounds like a series of testosterone fueled, alcohol induced series of mistakes that ended with violence and permanent damage to many lives. It is sad and was avoidable.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
I'm no lawyer but just to play devil's advocate, I think the prosecution is going to have to prove it was Nelson's kick that caused the injury. The defense will undoubtedly point to the other guy giving the KO punch & slamming head into the concrete as what caused the injury. Also, it was dark/night time & the witnesses were likely drinking. Factor in that Nelson has no priors to my knowledge & I doubt he's going to do 72 mos.
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Like you, I'm no lawyer and don't necessarily disagree with your points. However, I'm going to play devil's, devil’s advocate. If the STRIB article posted by Curseislifted 33 is accurate, what threat did Kolstad present that PN had to kick him in the head? If in fact Kolstad was hit by someone other than PN and was out when he hit the ground, PN actions are probably worse than if he had been involved in hitting Kolstad in the first place. If PN had thrown the (first) punch that downed Kolstad, I'm guessing PN’s attorney may have argued that PN was somehow following through/finishing off Kolstad in the heat of the moment. This does not appear to the case according to witnesses and PN apparently assaulted Kolstad after he was unconscious. Coming out of nowhere to hit a downed man who is unconscious seems indefensible to me. I’m thinking PN is going to be sentenced to some serious time.
 

GopherinPhilly said:
While I rarely agree with Indi...in this instance I do. I've been thrust into many situations, especially when alcohol is involved, that got out of hand. I am not one to lose control, but have been assaulted, jumped by multiple persons before and robbed at both knife and gun point. When the animal in us kicks in...it isn't something you can turn off so easily. Adrenaline is a kick and fight or flight is built into our dna. And when you are alone and two guys are holding your arms and a third is moving in for a head shot...you would be amazed at what your body can do and how little your conscious mind is in control for those brief moments. (Describing a personal situation, not what happened in Mankato)

This situation sounds like a series of testosterone fueled, alcohol induced series of mistakes that ended with violence and permanent damage to many lives. It is sad and was avoidable.
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Did thoughts of getting new friends or hanging out in different places ever cross your mind?
 

gopherdad said:
Stcgopher's comments need to be called out for what they are - immature and ignorant. I am a 46 yr old father with kids, including sons. I have been in fights (none after college), and I am a former athlete, so I can hold my own. I regret every fight, and I teach my sons to walk away, for this very reason. You fight as a last resort, when you have to survive, not because someone "got up in your face". You don't fight because your ego got pricked. Stcgopher, I hope you fix your way of thinking. Phillip Nelson has basically tossed a hand grenade into a room - everyone is now injured because of it, including Phillip Nelson. Right now, I have to be honest and say Phillip Nelson's reputation would be my last concern. As a dad, this is a dumb, dumb dumb loss.
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+1. This makes way too much sense to be posted here.
 

gopherdad said:
Stcgopher's comments need to be called out for what they are - immature and ignorant. I am a 46 yr old father with kids, including sons. I have been in fights (none after college), and I am a former athlete, so I can hold my own. I regret every fight, and I teach my sons to walk away, for this very reason. You fight as a last resort, when you have to survive, not because someone "got up in your face". You don't fight because your ego got pricked. Stcgopher, I hope you fix your way of thinking. Phillip Nelson has basically tossed a hand grenade into a room - everyone is now injured because of it, including Phillip Nelson. Right now, I have to be honest and say Phillip Nelson's reputation would be my last concern. As a dad, this is a dumb, dumb dumb loss.
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Well said. Great post.
 


GopherJack said:
Question: If a kid has a fake ID (and there are a lot of good ones out there), does that get the bar off the hook for serving them?
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There is a statutory defense to an underage sale where the liquor vendor “reasonably relies” on the presentation of a fake ID. What’s reasonable depends largely on the facts of the case—things like does the customer match the photo, is it reasonable to believe that the person presenting the card is the age the ID states, etc. That statute isn’t a defense to an illegal sale to an obviously intoxicated person.
 

GopherinPhilly said:
While I rarely agree with Indi...in this instance I do. I've been thrust into many situations, especially when alcohol is involved, that got out of hand. I am not one to lose control, but have been assaulted, jumped by multiple persons before and robbed at both knife and gun point. When the animal in us kicks in...it isn't something you can turn off so easily. Adrenaline is a kick and fight or flight is built into our dna. And when you are alone and two guys are holding your arms and a third is moving in for a head shot...you would be amazed at what your body can do and how little your conscious mind is in control for those brief moments. (Describing a personal situation, not what happened in Mankato)

This situation sounds like a series of testosterone fueled, alcohol induced series of mistakes that ended with violence and permanent damage to many lives. It is sad and was avoidable.
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Stating whether or not you've been in such and such a situation, to me, seems like an attempt to trivialize or "humanize" the action. Gopherinphilly, and you're not the only one just the most recent one, you're account about human instinct taking over, the reason we are different than animals is our ability to control those instincts. That's how we got to the top of the food chain. I don't know if that was your intent, which I highly doubt from what I've seen with you as a poster, but including the word alcohol and testosterone as contributing factors doesn't feel right to me.

When someone puts someone else to the brink of death, the only thing that would give me pause to say "i understand how this could have happened a little bit" would be if someone had a gun to your head forcing you to do so.... Everything else is noise.

Again Gopherinphilly, I don't know if that was your intent, but that's how I read it when someone adds the qualifiers like "This situation sounds like..." where the ....'s are a bunch of excuses for the action. It should read 'This situation sounds like a bunch of idiots that need to be locked up for some time"


Also a poster who stated that alcohol reveals our "true identity"... Are you kidding me?!?! You're telling me I'm only myself when I'm drinking? There are so many unqualified idiotic statements in this thread its hard to read, but I do.... Kinda like a train wreck in that way....

The only things, I FEEL, we should be saying are

a. How terrible this situation is
b. How stupid PN and other suspect are
c. How you hope the victim recovers
or
d. I reserve judgement until all the facts are uncovered
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
I'm no lawyer but just to play devil's advocate, I think the prosecution is going to have to prove it was Nelson's kick that caused the injury. The defense will undoubtedly point to the other guy giving the KO punch & slamming head into the concrete as what caused the injury. Also, it was dark/night time & the witnesses were likely drinking. Factor in that Nelson has no priors to my knowledge & I doubt he's going to do 72 mos.
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Also no lawyer, but what difference would it make which strike was the damaging blow? If two people alternate punching a guy in the face, you're saying the prosecution needs to prove which punch went over the line? I don't think so. In this case, both suspects will likely be charged equally.
 

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