Mateen Cleaves has long attracted attention for his play on a basketball court.
His appearance in criminal court for trial on rape charges proved no different.
As Cleaves walked into Genesee County Circuit Court on Tuesday morning, a group of six supporters waited on the courthouse steps to hug him and say they were praying for him. Mobile trucks from the local television stations were parked at the curb.
Inside, every seat the courtroom was full, as was an overflow room with closed-circuit cameras on the proceedings.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was there, sitting in the front row, a few steps away from Cleaves, whom he said he considers "part of the family." So were Cleaves' relatives and friends. One man wore a Flint Northern T-shirt, representing the high school where Cleaves became an icon.
Cleaves is charged with numerous counts related to the alleged incident that prosecutors say took place after he met the woman at a charity golf outing in September.
It was definitely a hometown crowd, though there was no cheering. Instead, just somber gazes and whispered words.
"I think all of Flint is praying for him," said Flint City Councilman Eric Mays, who sat through the six-day trial.
Some women's rights activists were far less sympathetic.
Rachael Denhollander, the first victim of former MSU doctor Larry Nassarto to come forward and accuse Nassar of sexual abuse, saw a news report that Izzo was in attendance. She noted in a tweet that "Some MSU officials CAN make it to court in sex abuse cases. Not on behalf of victims, though."
Mays has known Cleaves' family for years. He said that Cleaves has become, unfairly in Mays' view, the poster child of the sexual assault crisis at Michigan State.
The crisis has uncovered hundreds of victims of abuse at the hands of Nassar and prompted millions in settlements. It led to the downfall of former MSU President Lou Anna Simon and raised doubts about the school's commitment to protecting women from attack, especially when the accused attackers are prominent athletes.
