William Mitchell Law Prof, Son of Onetime Team Owner, Is Accused of Exposing Himself
A former adjunct professor at William Mitchell law school has been charged with exposing himself to a 24-year-old student.
The professor, Clark Calvin Griffith, 70, of Minneapolis, is the son of former Minnesota Twins owner Calvin Griffith, report the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. An expert in sports law, he resigned from the law school four days after the alleged Jan. 24 incident.
The law student told police she had met Griffith at a restaurant to discuss his help in the law clinic. She said he made inappropriate comments and unzipped his pants while walking her to her car. He allegedly exposed himself and kissed the student.
Griffith told the Pioneer Press that the charges are ridiculous. “Anybody can charge anybody with anything, and I’ve done nothing wrong,” he said.
A criminal complaint says Griffith urged the student to keep quiet about the incident in voice mails, text messages, tweets and a recorded phone conversation, according to the Pioneer Press account. In a Jan. 25 voice message, he allegedly said, “Any hint of anything here and I get shot. You don’t want that, do you? That was amazing, by the way.”
In the phone conversation, Griffith allegedly said he was in an “absolute daze” when he “unzipped,” but claimed it was the student who kissed him, something she denies, the Pioneer Press says. The Star Tribune has more details on the conversation. “I didn’t know what I was doing,” he reportedly said. “I came out of it in about 20, 20, or 30 seconds and then I said, ‘God, what am I doing?’ “
