Two Yankees charged with assault for Fenway fight

[Shakespeare]

http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2003/10/20/yankees/index.html

Oct. 20, 2003 | BOSTON (AP) -- Police have decided to seek assault and battery charges against Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson and right fielder Karim Garcia for a bullpen brawl with a Red Sox employee.

[joeybee12]

1. Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

String 'em up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bake]

2. How typically Bostonian. What bullsh*t!

This is ridiculous. Was anybody HURT? It was a freakin' baseball brawl. By these standards, they ought to arrest EVERYBODY who attends a hockey game! Question: Any Boston players charged? Martinez perhaps?

If this had happened in New York, nobody would be charged. This is pure bullshit, and poor poor piss poor sportsmanship. Not that the brawl was a shining example of it, but these things HAPPEN in baseball. Good grief!

And no, I don't consider myself a Yankees fan.

Bake

[joeybee12]

4. Do you have any idea what you're talking about??????????

This is not about what happened on the field--this was about an unprovoked attack on a stadium employee by two Yankees.

[Bob3]

6. Actually NY's "beloved" Mayor Mike said

That if it had happened in New York he would have charged Pedro "in a heartbeat"

Proof once again that NY needs a new mayor.

[VermontDem2004]

7. It was the brawl in the bullpen

which the groundskeeper was injured (not much) but had to go to the hospital.

[Justice]

12. The Guy Had Cleat Marks on His Back and Arm

The groundskeeper's crime: rooting for the sox - his punishment: the yankee relief pitchers decided to silence him by stomping on him -

How many times in game 7 Fox showed Pedro's pitch hitting Garcia and replaying Don Zimmer charging Pedro (12-13 times????) but never a whisper about the assault that took place in the bullpen.

[trapper914]

28. After the brawl earlier in the game...

...why was the groundskeeper waving a towel for the Red Sox in the Yankee bullpen anyway? Where the hell was Fenway Park security?

Still, assault is assault. And if Jeff threw the first punch, then he deserves to be judged.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

31. And Mike Bloomberg is from MEDFORD, MA

Right next to Boston. He was a Sox fan until he became May-ah of Noo Yawk.

[WilliamPitt]

9. Bullshit

Several Yankee pitchers gang-stomped a Fenway groundskeeper, said stompee wound up in the hospital. If no one in New York would be charged for something like that, then New York isn't worth a single piece of shit.

[IndianaGreen]

29. Sore losers!

This means another curse on the Red Sox: The Cubs will go to the Series before the Red Sox.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

30. The Groundskeeper WAS hurt-he is still out of work

I just saw on my local news that his neck is still in a brace and he is going to physical therapy everyday.

No, he's not hurt at all. :eyes:

[IndianaGreen]

39. The groundskeeper is working on a civil suit

and he will use such standard language such as "that as a direct and proximate result of the carelessness and of the negligence of all of the defendants... the plaintiff sustained severe and painful injuries which caused and continue to cause him great physical pain and suffering and mental anguish..." and blah, blah, blah.

[BringEmOn]

37. Jeff "Perp Walk" Nelson

[drewb]

3. Guess they can try this case....

when they finish with "The People vs. Grady Little"

Muahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!

Sour Grapes! How do they taste???

[The Sushi Bandit]

5. It's about time!!!

swollen headed Yankee bastards!

[bluestateguy]

8. HA! HA!

Oh and good luck finding a sympathetic jury in Massachusetts! HA! HA! This should be real helpful to the morale of the team. What a bunch of criminals!

[Yavin4]

10. So Is This The Red Sox' New Strategy?

Can't beat them on the field, so put them in jail. How very Ashcroftian!

[Loyal]

11. I disagree

As a yankees fan, I am disgusted by what happened in this incident. Any clear minded person can see that this kind of behavior is savage and unwarranted. Let me just say that I am glad that our good pitchers were not involved in this brawl, because Nelson and Garcia aren't our best relievers anyway.

[5thGenDemocrat]

13. Especially

As Karim Garcia is an outfielder.
John
And not a particularly good one.

[FredScuttle]

25. Isn't Garcia the one who wears the gigantic cross on a necklace?

Nice Christian values there, stomping a man on the ground.

Yankee fans can complain about this all they want....the police have determined this was an assault and St. Karim and Nellie the Punk will have to face the music.

[K-W]

40. Yes and I'm sure the boston police are completely objective

I'm not defending the Yankees, but on no level of this is or will justice be blind.

[FredScuttle]

44. Yes I'm sure the Boston Police have crafted this frame-up expertly...

Since there's no crime to speak of in Boston, the police have all the time in the world to dream up a scenario where they can throw two Yankee scrubs in the hoosegow.

Nelson and Garcia did the crime, let's see if they do the time.

[SiobhanClancy]

14. It's the Boston police that are charging them...

not the Red Sox.

[FlemingsGhost]

22. This has little to do with sports, Yavin4.

A man was assaulted, and the Boston Police has investigated the incident to the extent that they feel criminal charges should be pursued.

It's done in New York all the time.

[WindRavenX]

15. Eh..

Nelsons a punk and probably deserves it. I'm not too sure about Garcia though...
What about the groundkeeper? He initiated it! And wasn't Weaver involved too?

[Shakespeare]

16. blaming the victim?

The groundskeeper didn't "initiate" anything. As for Garcia, that punk intentionally took a hard slide into Todd Walker at 2nd earlier in the game. It was an attempt to injure a player who had NOTHING to do with Martinez' pitch at him (Garcia), and was really nasty behavior. That he would then turn around and for a second time take his anger out on an innocent person (the groundskeeper) doesn't terribly surprise me.

[WindRavenX]

17. I agree except for one thing

Garcia came running to the bullpen where the melee was already in progress- he didn't start it. It sounds like you're saying Garcia was waiting to take his anger out on another Red Sox (player or fan). But Garcia was late coming into the brawl. I'm not making excuses, but I'm just saying he neither started the bullpen brawl nor was he even there when it started.
Second, these brawls have in the past been started by fans- you saw the morons who took down the umpires and beat them up pretty bad. It's logical as a player to defend your teammates if there is a scuffle- Garcia did not know it was a Red Sox employee at the beginning.
Both Nelson and Garcia acted in foolish and dangerous manners, but again I ask: does the groundskeeper get off scout free? Does he not share some of the guilt for starting it? What happens to him? Nelson just didn't grab him from the crowd, remember. The employee had been harassing both Nelson and Weaver all night long up until that point.
Again I stress I do not condone their behavior. I am just wondering why the two Yankee players seem to be getting all the blame and the Sox employee is getting off.

[Shakespeare]

18. How are you suggesting he "started" it?

From every report I've read, he was at the other end of the bullpen, where he was working, and made the cardinal sin of cheering when the Sox did something (I don't even remember what happened in the game at that point). My guess is that the cheer was out of the guy's mouth before he even thought about where he was, and I do NOT think it was an attempt to provoke the NY bullpen. I mean, how stupid would that be? Get the shit kicked out of yourself AND get fired...no, I don't think that's what happened. I think he expressed a little happiness over something his team did, and the NY players ran down and beat the shit out of him.

And WHERE do you get this:

"The employee had been harassing both Nelson and Weaver all night long up until that point."

Based on WHAT do you make that statement?

And from a legal standpoint, the Boston groundskeeper didn't DO anything. The NY players might not have liked it, but he caused no personal injury to them--vise versa, however....for what they did to him...So it's pretty silly to suggest that the groundskeeper be "punished."

[WindRavenX]

19. After the game

I believe on ESPN when the charges were first beging discussed, one of the anchors said that the Yankee team released a statement that said that the Sox employee was harassing (not just cheering) Weaver and Nelson from the bullpen. This is from my memory, and so could be wrong.
Nelson and Garcia are to be punished, but I think it's outrageous that they are seen as the only ones who did something wrong. And you're right, legally, the groundskeeper may be not have done anything wrong.
Both sides had emotions far too high, that's the bottom line. Sadly, people got hurt because of it, and I'm very disapointed in Garcia (not so much from Nelson because it's like him to do that kind of crap).

[donotpassgo]

27. Oh, OK the Accusers word is ALWAYS right

The guy was just sitting there twittling his thumbs cheering for the Red Sox and BLAM! Jeff Nelson came at him like a rabid maniac.

Yeah RIGHT!

[sleipnir]

20. What shocked me

If I remember correctly, security in the bullpen let Nelson and Garcia get a couple off before they restrained them. They guy was on the ground and their security guard kinda hung back, let the pitchers kick him a bit, then moved in.

[WindRavenX]

21. Ughhh!!

God, that game was such a mess...

[markses]

23. Ay yay yay

Watta loada crap.

Same thing happened 200 times that very night, all over the City of Boston. Puh-fuckin'-leez.

Why don't you losers just go and get the lynch mob out. Gitcha sumdemder Yankees.

And some on this thread, waxing indignant about the rule of law! This is truly a moment of high comedy. Boston's loser status was cute precisely because it wasn't vindictive (towards outsiders, anyway). This shit stinks to high heaven.

What a fucking joke from top to bottom.

[FlemingsGhost]

24. What an intelligent post!

A man was assaulted. The Boston Police, many of whom were on the scene, have investigated the matter and decided criminal charges should be pursued. Like I wrote earlier, this scenario is being played out throughout New York City numerous times as I write these words.

So what's your beef?

Is it with the American justice system, or the fact that misconduct was allegedly perpetrated by two of your beloved ballplayers?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

33. Yeah, we're all losers here in Boston

:eyes:

I have a ton of friends in New York, and they are HORRIFIED at what happened to that groundskeeper. Obviously, their humanity extends beyond sports. Yours obviously doesn't.

Have you even ever BEEN to Boston? It is a considerably more civilized place than you make it out to be. As a Seasons Ticket holder-and I have been going to games pretty much since early childhood-Boston fans are pretty well-behaved. So save your anger for the neo-cons and leave Boston alone.

[SiobhanClancy]

36. What a lovely post!

Are we having a bad day,dear?:)Sounds like somebody needs a time out.

[donotpassgo]

26. Just because the guy got his ass kicked doesn't mean its assault

MLB has had many incedents where fans have attacked players. In a rowdy game with a lot of bad blood, a groundskeeper who refuses to leave the players alone, especially when asked, probably threatened or goaded Nelson. Maybe he got what he deserved.

As for Garcia: How many players tackled that idiot in Kansas City and got a shot in? 3? 4? How many charged with Assault? Zero.

[Shakespeare]

32. Actually, that's exactly what it means.

The guy was physically attacked--so yes, he was assaulted. To argue that he "provoked" the attack is sickening. Nelson and Garcia need to grow up and show a little restraint.

Another case of spoiled athletes thinking they can get away with this shit....except that this time it looks like they aren't going to get away with it. Boo-hoo for them.

[donotpassgo]

35. I dont consider it assault when two men are standing face to face

and they challenge each other and one person swings first.

[bicentennial_baby]

38. Well the law disagrees

and that's what counts, eh?

[K-W]

41. Only to an extent.

THere are many levels of assault and the context does have legal bearing.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

34. Yeah, blame the victim

Typical repuke assertion. I'm sure the chick Kobe raped deserved it too.

[Bombero1956]

42. look

if we follow the logic expressed by some on this thread, then the Boston Police are out to get the Yankee players as a way of getting revenge on the Yankees...not likely. Were the police in Edmonton getting revenge on the Boston Bruins when Marty McSorley was arrested and charged with assault during a game? or were they upholding the law.I think the police in Boston witnessed the assault and were required to act. I think this falls within the area of "fightin words". What was the groundskeeper supposed to do, forget that he's a Red Sox fan? He could've held up a sign saying "The Yankees suck" and paraded around the bullpen right in front of the Yankee players and that still didn't give them the right to beat the guy up. In fact the Supreme Court in Terminiello v. Chicago, 337 U.S. 1 (1949) says speech that merely causes anger or outrage does not amount to fighting words.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

43. Good Post, Gargoyle

Thanks!