Ridiculous…
Posted by Ben on August 7th, 2003
From the “Justice really is blind” department…
Last year, some drunk yahoo ran onto the field at a White Sox game and jumped one of the base coaches. Yesterday, he got a slap on the wrist (30 months probation). The kicker is the reasoning behind the sentencing that the judge gave:
“The violence that baseball players are exposed to comes from within,” Holt said. “What fan has not seen a pitcher intentionally hurl a baseball at a player’s head at 90 mph? Who has not seen a batter leave home plate headed for the pitcher’s mound bat in hand bent on mischief and mayhem?
“What is the expected conduct of fans who sit for two or three hours drinking unlimited quantities of beer? How did Comiskey Park come to be known as the world’s largest outdoor saloon?”
Apparently, the judge is known for being a softie (on the radio this morning, a few cops called in and said the popular nickname for him among officers and district attorneys is “Let ‘em Go Leo”). Where’s a little individual responsibility? The guy gets himself stupid drunk (on expensive ball-park beer no less…), and the judge blames the sport for the problem. Players in the field getting into fights is one thing…at least there, you’ve got a provocation, trivial as it might be. This is just a drunk idiot