The Marin County district attorney recently dropped battery charges against a Redwood varsity football coach regarding his alleged involvement in a brawl that occurred last fall.

Coach Michael Durant had been charged with one count of battery on school property after a football game against San Rafael ended in a bench-clearing fight on Oct. 29, 2010.

According to Durant’s lawyer, Mark Goldrosen, Durant was cleared after the district attorney investigated the incident further.

“Finally, when the case was about ready to go to trial, they spoke with some of their witnesses again and realized that they didn’t really have proof that Coach Durant had committed a crime,” Goldrosen said.

“I know previously the Redwood administration did its own investigation and did not find proof to support the charges,” Goldrosen said. “They exonerated Mike, so they allowed him to coach for this year.”

If he had been found guilty, Durant would have faced a fine of up to $2,000 and/or imprisonment for a maximum of one year.

Varsity football player Brian Hunca, junior, said that he thinks none of the team ever believed Durant was guilty.

Hunca said that it was more likely that the other team had misinterpreted Durant’s effort to break up the fight.

As a result of the brawl, 31 Redwood varsity players were suspended from the team for the next scheduled game against San Marin. The team was then forced to forfeit their next game, consequently decreasing their chance of making playoffs.

Shortly after the Oct. 29 game, coaches asked if any students present at the game would be willing to testify for Durant, and according to Hunca, a few agreed. However, the testimonies were never necessary because the charges were dropped before the case was taken to trial.

Goldrosen said that the charges against Durant should not affect his future coaching career at Redwood.

Durant is currently the defensive-back and receiver coach on the varsity team.