Mascots Gone Wild
The Diamondbacks' mascot, Baxter, was fired after he was pulled over on an Arizona highway and accused of having a blood-alcohol content of nearly twice the legal limit- with the costume in the back seat - and police say he also admitted smoking marijuana earlier in the day. Click through for other cases of mascot misconduct.
Nick Doan, WireImage
The Penn State senior who plays the Nittany Lion mascot was suspended after being hit with a DUI charge in November was forced to miss the Rose Bowl.
Elsa, Getty Images
One of the actors who dresses up as the Pittsburgh Steelers' team mascot, Steely McBeam, was arrested and accused of driving under the influence in April.
Michael Fabus, Getty Images
Last March, there was a spectacular brawl between Oral Roberts' Eli the Eagle and IUPUI's Jawz the Jaguar. Watch the Fight
YouTube.com
The Oregon Duck got into a fight with Houston's Cougar in 2007, and earned himself him a suspension and a spot in the YouTube Hall of Fame. Watch the Battle
Rick Bowmer, AP
In August 2007, the Mariners' Moose drew the ire of Boston fans when he hit former Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp with his ATV during a game in Seattle.
Elaine Thompson, AP
The Dodgers-Giants rivalry is fierce, and that spreads even to San Francisco's mascot Lou Seal. He was caught on tape in 2007 challenging an unruly Dodgers fan to fisticuffs.
Eric Risberg, AP
Benny the Bull got in hot water for shooting a T-shirt gun at two Celtics last April. Unfortunately, this wasn't Benny's first brush with the law. He also got in trouble for hitting an off-duty police officer three years ago.
Gary Dineen, NBAE / Getty Images
The actress inside the Stanford Tree was fired in 2006 for being drunk on the job. Campus police spotted her taking nips from a flask during a basketball game.
Jeff Gross, Getty Images
Burnie was sued by a fan who was dragged onto the court by the Heat mascot. Unfortunately for Burnie, the woman was the wife of a judge and slapped a $1 million lawsuit on the orange fuzzball.
Issac Baldizon, NBAE / Getty Images
Yet, that's exactly what David Hamilton did last Sept. 10 in the Phoenix area.
Hamilton, 35, was the Diamondbacks' mascot, D. Baxter the Bobcat. The following day was a day off for the Diamondbacks before what was sure to be a grueling seven-game home-stand for Mr. Baxter. He was obviously just trying to enjoy his last day of freedom for the week, so he was packing it all in. I mean, he had the next day to sleep it off. A great plan, sure, but now he's out of a likely lucrative gig.
"After concluding our own investigation and gathering the facts involved, we felt it was necessary to take corrective action," Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall said. "We will pursue a replacement for the mascot that is such a large part of our fan experience immediately."They didn't name any requirements, but any applicants should probably steer clear of the pot-and-alcohol-all-day-binge before driving at excessive speeds with the costume in the back seat. After all, that's only common sense to avoid the mistakes of those who came before you, no?
As for Hamilton, I'm pretty sure he won't be getting in the Suns' Gorilla costume anytime soon.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
uh.... dated september 10th. Story's a little old, isn't it?
Yeah, that's when he was arrested, but it was first made public today. If you click on the link above the blockquote you'll see.
Can you blame him, his family has to tell everyone their son is a coyote!!!
What a load. The Mascot fired for DUI. Players involved in shootings, beating their wives, children and lovers playing ball. Drug and roid users playing. Killer playing for the Ravens. Who gets punished........the mascot. This is a league run by a lawyer and its evident.