Chmura Apologizes, Hopes to Play Again

Mark Chmura said he’s sorry.

“I know as a Green Bay Packer and as a professional athlete, I’ve disappointed many, many people. And for that I am truly sorry,” Chmura said Sunday, one day after a Waukesha, Wis. jury acquitted him of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl.

The foreman of the jury that acquitted Chmura of charges of child enticement and sexual assault that carried up to 40 years in prison said Chmura is guilty of one thing: bad judgment.

“He put himself in a bad situation by being drunk with kids and in a hot tub in his underwear,” said foreman Brad Breidenstein.

But the jury disagreed with District Attorney Paul Bucher’s contention that Chmura went from frolicking around in wet boxers with drunken teenagers to luring the girl into a bathroom and sexually assaulting her April 9.

“None of us believed nothing happened. We all believed something happened in there,” said a 59-year-old female juror who asked that her name not be used.

“But we had no evidence to prove it.”

Breidenstein said without any DNA evidence, it was hard to prove anything.

“We all agreed that they were in that bathroom together. But we don’t really know what took place,” Breidenstein said. “It was like [defense lawyer] Gerald Boyle said: ‘She got caught in the bathroom with a married man and now she’s got to get out of this little predicament.’ ”

Bucher insisted he proved during the trial that Chmura had inappropriate sexual contact with a minor.

“The evidence clearly indicates there was sexual contact,” the prosecutor said.

“The real issue became if it was consensual or not. That was an issue for the jury to decide. The jury found we were not able to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt, probably for a variety of reasons.”

“Baloney,” Boyle said.

“I argued there wasn’t any sexual contact. That’s what the jury found,”

Breidenstein said the accuser’s inconsistent testimony and surly demeanor on the stand also helped them acquit Chmura.

At a news conference in which Boyle didn’t allow his client to discuss what happened at the party because of the threat of a civil lawsuit, Chmura broke down crying.

“This has opened my eyes up to a lot of things,” Chmura said. “And like I said, I disappointed a lot of people. And for that I am truly sorry.”

Chmura said he would celebrate his acquittal by going to Disney World and that he plans to resume his pro football career.

“I’m ready to get back to work,” he said. “I plan on suiting up for someone next year.”

Winter Sports

Erben Wennemars won a 1,000-meter World Cup speedskating race in 1 minute 10.06 seconds, before his home fans at Heerenveen, Netherlands.

Nick Pearson of the U.S. finished third behind second-place finisher Jan Bos of the Netherlands. Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt of Germany won the women’s 1,000.

Adam Malysz of Poland dominated another World Cup ski jump at Willingen, Germany, soaring 142.5 meters on both leaps and setting a World Cup event record of 316 points.

Christoph Langen of Germany won the four-man bobsled title at St. Moritz, Switzerland. . . Pavel Rostovtsev of Russia won his second gold medal at the biathlon world championships at Pokljuka, Slovenia. Liv Grete Skjelbreid-Poiree of Norway won the women’s gold medal. . . Morten Broers of Norway won the World Cup freestyle elimination sprint at Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. Julija Tschepalova of Russia won the women’s event.

Tennis

Spain’s Fernando Vicente won the first clay-court tournament of the year, defeating Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-4, 7-6 (6), in the Colombia Open at Bogota.

Vicente, seeded second, also won ATP Tour clay-court events in 1999 in Merano, Italy, and 2000 in Casablanca, Morocco.

Roger Federer of Switzerland won his first ATP title, defeating Julien Boutter of France, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-4, in the final of the Milan Indoors tournament in Italy.

Miscellany

Fernando Valenzuela worked five strong innings for Mexico, but the Dominican Republic rode the pitching of Robert Ellis to a 4-2 victory in the Caribbean Series at Culiacan, Mexico.

In another first-round game, Venezuela beat Puerto Rico, 6-5.

Puerto Rico and Venezuela completed first-round play at 2-1, and Mexico and the Dominican Republic are 1-2.

Valenzuela, the 1981 Cy Young Award winner with the Dodgers, left the game complaining of ankle pain after giving up one run and three hits.

Ellis gave up one run, a homer by Eliseo Garzon, in seven innings.

Ivan Pedroso of Cuba leaped 26 feet 9 3/4 inches in the long jump, and Gabriela Szabo of Romania won the mile in 4 minutes 23.19 seconds at the Stuttgart indoor track meet at Germany.

Falk Balzer of Germany won the 60-meter hurdles in 7.55 seconds--0.01 of a second ahead of Anier Garcia of Cuba and Tony Dees of the U.S.

France defeated defending champion Sweden, 28-25, in overtime in the men’s team handball title at the world championships at Paris.

Walter Ray Williams Jr. won the Professional Bowlers Assn. Tour’s national championship beating Jeff Lizzi, 258-204, in the title game.