When Athletes Attack
One heckler learned (the hard way) why you are not supposed to tease a Beaver.

Marc David
MinorLeagueNews.com

 

Part of the appeal of being a sports fan is the range of emotions that are conjured up from cheering on your favorite team.

For some people, the highs and lows that are experienced can create the feeling that they are, albeit from the stands, part of the game.

While many people may argue that heckling is indeed ‘part of the game’, sometimes it can go too far, and it did in Las Vegas, NV, on August 18, 2003.

The Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League were at home hosting the Portland Beavers when, what 51s president/general manager Don Logan called a "situation where there was plenty of blame to go around," erupted.

The “situation” was an incident at Cashman Field where Portland players went into the stands to confront a particularly profane fan.
It turned into a sordid affair that affected the Beavers performance on the field, as well as their place in the standings, during the final two weeks of the season.

What transpired that day revolved around Portland first baseman Tagg Bozied and a Las Vegas fan, later identified as Jim Lowe.

Lowe was reportedly heckling Bozied throughout the game, continuing to get more vulgar as the game continued.

Things boiled over in the top of the ninth when Bozied popped up to end the game.

Lowe allegedly threw a foam “stress relief ball”, the evening’s promotional giveaway, in Bozied’s direction as he returned to the dugout.

Suddenly, the situation exploded as the team reportedly rushed into the stands and began assaulting Lowe. The altercation was broken up by a brother of a 51s player, who happened to be a professional bodyguard.

Eighteen Portland players were given four-game suspensions for taking part in the melee, while Bozied was suspended for eight games.

Subsequently, Manager Rick Sweet was forced to play the rest of the season short-handed, and for one game, the Beavers’ fielded a team that consisted of only nine available players.

The Pacific Coast League administered the discipline very publicly, unlike a few weeks earlier when an Albuquerque player was suspended for tossing bats at an umpire. [See MLN Story – Closer Tantrum…]

At that time, the PCL invoked its declaration that it would not publicly announce suspensions.

Asked why the league took a public stance on this occasion, PCL President Branch Rickey replied, "It was so highly visible, the abnormality of it with (so many) people involved.”

Rickey said there have been other incidents during his six years as president where players have gone into the stands, though nothing to the magnitude of what occurred in Las Vegas. He also said there are incidents that go on behind closed doors (in the clubhouse area, for example) that never get publicized.

"On the Las Vegas incident, there were repeated efforts (by the media) over a period of a week to get comments, so there was more elaboration,” Rickey stated. “Generally, we don't get into specifics. Occasionally, we do, especially when there are inaccurate reports, and especially when they may be detrimental to players, teams or the league."

51s president/general manager Don Logan didn't condone what the players did, but at the same time, he was hardly sympathetic to the fan.

"The bottom line is the fan was completely out of line," said Logan, who has been involved with the Las Vegas franchise for 20 years.

"There was a lot of chirping going on early but there was no profanity. As the game went on, the language got bad. The guy might have had too much beer,” Logan reasoned. “The players deal with this all the time. In our ballpark, the fans are right above the dugouts so they are close."

Logan is convinced the brawl was incited when the fan threw the stress ball on to the field.

"Players are used to getting hit with insults, but not with objects," Logan said. "Players know they are not supposed to go into the stands. Our security people should have been more alert. We move on. Everyone learns from this."

It seems Jim Lowe has yet to move on. MLN has learned that Lowe recently filed a lawsuit with the District Court in Clark County NV, against the Portland Beavers as well as individual players who supposedly took part in the assault.

In a complaint filed on October 28, 2003, Lowe is seeking damages for a variety of allegations, including assault, battery and emotional distress.

Interestingly, prior to the Portland situation, there was a similar incident several weeks earlier in Las Vegas involving fans and Fresno players.

Somehow, a Grizzlies' player's glove ended up in the Cashman stands around some fans who hade been heckling players. Several Fresno players reached into the stands to get the glove. None went into the stands but there were harsh words on each side before security intervened and cooler heads prevailed.

 

 

 

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