This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays we’re looking at mascot incidents. I was in Atlanta recently and I managed to take in several Braves games. The Braves mascot, Blooper, has been in the news this week because of a Twitter spat with the Philly Phanatic.
Mascot for the Mob
The headline got me thinking of the recent notorious mascot story (look it up) and I started to wonder about crimes in the mascot world.
Officials are still making arrests of people involved in the January 6, 2021, attempted insurrection, including a St. Louis Cardinals mascot/superfan known as “Rally Runner.” This fellow, Daniel Donnelly Jr. is known for running around the Cardinals’ stadium during baseball games while wearing red clothes and red face paint.
Although he was readily identifiable because he was wearing his red face paint, and the FBI questioned him days after the incident, he was only recently arrested.
It’s clear that he’s passionate about the St. Louis Cardinals. Since January 6, he officially changed his name to Rally Runner. He was also a passionate Trump supporter. Too passionate.
Broadstreet Bully Bullies a Boy (sort of)
Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot was investigated a few years ago for assaulting a boy who patted him on the head.
Now, one thing we all know about Gritty is that he won’t back away from a fight. This is part of the playfulness aspect of being a mascot, particularly one known to be a scrapper. So one would think if you challenge Gritty, you may be indicating your consent to some rough housing.
Photo by Governor Tom Wolf from Harrisburg, PA
Thankfully Gritty was cleared. One wonders where the limits are for mascot behaviour.
Dancing Dino Tackled
Back in April the Colorado Rockies mascot, Dinger, was tackled and injured leading to a reward for information leading to the arrest of the culprit. Mr. Kenneth Sonley, turned himself in after the police identified him and called him.
Photo by Onetwo1 at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
Sonley was charged with assault and disturbing the peace.
One wonders if people with mascot jobs think about the dangers they face. They may face investigation for playful conduct. They may be assaulted. And it’s not just sports mascots.
