Two MSU players plead guilty to charges from Rather Hall incident

EAST LANSING - Michigan State football players B.J. Cunningham and Mark Dell each pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor assault and battery Wednesday afternoon at East Lansing 54-B District Court.

Cunningham, a sophomore wide receiver, admitted to kicking someone during a Nov. 22 incident at Rather Hall, an on-campus dormitory.

Dell, a junior wide receiver, said he punched MSU student Brent Mitchell in the face during the same incident.

Dell and Cunningham are scheduled to be sentenced on March 8.

Both players were previously suspended from the team and did not travel with MSU to the Alamo Bowl. But both had since resumed team activities until their legal cases are resolved.

Nine additional players face charges from the incident. Four others were not charged, but were suspended by MSU coach Mark Dantonio for being present during the incident.

For more on this story, see Thursday's State Journal.