More on Jamal Malone

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FROM the OC Register: People asking why athlete was beaten: Saddleback College football coach says bad blood didn't seem to exist among players in the assault of Jamal Malone

The game was well on its way to a rout when Jamal Malone and Chad Duran walked onto the field, two first-year college football players trying to stand out amid the Saddleback Gauchos packed roster.

With the team leading Mt. San Jacinto by 38 points—on its way to a 52 to 0 victory—head coach Mark McElroy wanted to give all his players a chance to compete, no small feat on a roster than began the season with more than 140 people.

The Sept. 1 game was the last time Malone, 20, and Duran, 18, competed on the same field. Less than a month later an early morning melee has left Malone in critical condition, and Duran—along with three other individuals—facing assault charges.

Malone remained in critical condition Thursday as family, friends and community members try unravel the events surrounding the attack.

Police said the fight took place during an early Sunday morning party at the Promenade Apartments on Marguerite Parkway. Malone was fighting four other people, police said, when he was punched, fell and hit his head on the concrete. Malone lives at the apartments, but family members say the party was not at his home.

Police arrested Duran, Wallace Rodrigues, and Nigel Kawai, all 18, and an unidentified minor who are facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit great bodily harm. Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said that despite rumors to the contrary no baseball bats were used during the fight, pointing out that fists can be considered deadly weapons.

Much of the attention surrounding the incident has centered on the victim and the alleged attackers’ involvement in the football program. Rodrigues, was also briefly involved in the program, McElroy said, although he left before any games were played.

Saddleback officials today attempted to dispel rumors that the fight had anything to do with football, pointing out that Duran had left the team more than two weeks ago.

“I never saw any problems between those two ever,” McElroy said.

With an estimated attrition rate of 25 percent, Duran and Rodrigues’ departures were not unexpected, Athletic Director Tony Lipold said.

“It’s real competitive and they show up expecting to be the star they were in high school,” Lipold said. “It doesn’t always pan out.”….