Gritty Accused of Punching 13 Year Old (UPD: No Criminal Charges to be Pursued)

[GindyDraws]

Can we just get rid of mascots already?

The King Baby will terrorize nobody any more, as the Baby Cakes moved to Wichita this year*, but we still have the matter of this unfortunate avian atrocity in N'awlins.

*The team went back to their nutria mascot, Boudreaux, shortly after, but you can't put the genie back in the bottle.

 

[Hasbro]

I can't blame Gritty. Who here hasn't been tempted to punch a Flyer fan?

 

[GindyDraws]

Years ago a young guy worked for me who was from Anaheim. In college during summer worked at Disney and played various characters. The stories he told about the abuse from kids and parents were incredible!

There's a whole chapter in Realityland devoted to mascot abuse. The company doesn't like it when people act drunk or curse or grope inappropriately while wearing the costumes, but it's okay for the customers to yell at and beat up you if you're wearing a Donald Duck suit. Supposedly, there was a hierarchy of costumes with there being an unwritten policy about beating up the Seven Dwarves as a rite of passage for visitors, but while the Three Little Pigs (Disney's version of the characters) roamed the park, they were considered the worst characters to be dressed as, since anyone and everyone wanted to kick a pig and given the unpopularity of said characters, it was encouraged.

 

[StoneHands]

Its pretty clear its a manufactured story to do just this. Its well executed, but fake.

I mean, look at the picture.

It sounds fake but the Philly police are actually investigating it. I can see the team making a publicity stunt out of it but I doubt the Philly PD would play along and if they were faking the whole thing and actually did lie to get the PD involved, they're going to be facing charges for that.

 

[tarheelhockey]

What a strange situation.

As a dad, I can understand how you have that "oh HELL no" moment when someone lays an aggressive hand on your kid.
As a dad, I feel like you should also have an "oh HELL no" moment any time your kid lays an aggressive hand on an adult.

I understand how a punch in the spine can manifest an injury a week later, especially in a place like the spine.
I can't understand why you would take a 13-year-old to a chiropractor to diagnose that injury.

I can understand how this could make a kid feel like "I don't want to go to games anymore".
I can't understand how that kid and dad would then continue to show up smiling at games and team functions.

I can understand how you might refuse to let the team "sweep it under the rug" without any kind of report.
I can't understand how that does a 180 into trying to get special goodies, THEN filing a police report when they don't meet your demands.

I can understand protecting your kid, teaching him to protect himself from a mean world.
I can't understand putting your kid's name and face out to the world like this.

It's not that the complaint is completely crazy. A slightly different person could probably have really dragged the "Gritty" guy through the dirt for this. But this series of events has the distinct vibe of someone who is a little off-balance as a person, using his kid as a vehicle to get in front of cameras and famous people.

 

[Frank Drebin]

It sounds fake but the Philly police are actually investigating it. I can see the team making a publicity stunt out of it but I doubt the Philly PD would play along and if they were faking the whole thing and actually did lie to get the PD involved, they're going to be facing charges for that.

yeah, I can't see the PD playing along with a publicity stunt.

Is it a crime to report that police are investigating something they are not?

 

[AvroArrow]

"Accused"

People accuse anyone of anything these days. Sad. I even forgot that one college football players name, he was supposed to be a top pick in the draft, paid millions etc. A girl falsely accused him of rape, he had everything stripped, missed on the draft etc. then later she comes out and says she lied.

Anyone can accuse a person of anything, until its confirmed it doesn't mean anything.

 

[Hasbro]

There's a whole chapter in Realityland devoted to mascot abuse. The company doesn't like it when people act drunk or curse or grope inappropriately while wearing the costumes, but it's okay for the customers to yell at and beat up you if you're wearing a Donald Duck suit. Supposedly, there was a hierarchy of costumes with there being an unwritten policy about beating up the Seven Dwarves as a rite of passage for visitors, but while the Three Little Pigs (Disney's version of the characters) roamed the park, they were considered the worst characters to be dressed as, since anyone and everyone wanted to kick a pig and given the unpopularity of said characters, it was encouraged.

I met someone who did some Princesses (mainly Belle) in the park and she also told me there was a heirarchy among those actresses. In particular the Snow Whites thought they were hot **** and had a built in market of sugar daddies.

 

[Eye Test]

those mascots take beatings more than you know

 

[David Dennison]

"Accused"

People accuse anyone of anything these days. Sad. I even forgot that one college football players name, he was supposed to be a top pick in the draft, paid millions etc. A girl falsely accused him of rape, he had everything stripped, missed on the draft etc. then later she comes out and says she lied.

Anyone can accuse a person of anything, until its confirmed it doesn't mean anything.

Are you talking about Brian Banks? He was a high school athlete, not college. It was a terrible situation, he went to prison and missed out on college, but he was still a long ways away from a NFL payday. Maybe you are talking about someone else though.

The Flyers statement seemed pretty confident nothing happened (perhaps they have video of the incident), but then again, they have a financial interest in the argument that nothing happened. The incident the parents describe doesn't make much sense though.

 

[Rygu]

Good for Gritty.

I only wish it was a 12 year old kid instead.

 

[StoneHands]

yeah, I can't see the PD playing along with a publicity stunt.

Is it a crime to report that police are investigating something they are not?

I'm not sure but the Philly PD did put out a statement saying it was being investigated so it doesn't sound like they just claimed the police are involved.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

fire his hairy ass

 

[islesfan186]

If Gritty punched my 13 year old son, Gritty would of been force fed his own eyeballs

For real. If you see a stanger hit you’re kid, are you just gonna send an email to the person saying you’re upset? Dude would get the asskicking of the year.

although it is 2020, so maybe. People are soft now

 

[Sam Spade]

If Gritty punched my 13 year old son, Gritty would of been force fed his own eyeballs

......by my 13 year old son.

 

[Harvey Birdman]

Kid should’ve kept his head up.

 

[Lupuls Grit]

There's a whole chapter in Realityland devoted to mascot abuse. The company doesn't like it when people act drunk or curse or grope inappropriately while wearing the costumes, but it's okay for the customers to yell at and beat up you if you're wearing a Donald Duck suit. Supposedly, there was a hierarchy of costumes with there being an unwritten policy about beating up the Seven Dwarves as a rite of passage for visitors, but while the Three Little Pigs (Disney's version of the characters) roamed the park, they were considered the worst characters to be dressed as, since anyone and everyone wanted to kick a pig and given the unpopularity of said characters, it was encouraged.

I was mortified a few years ago when my young son ran up and kicked a Storm Trooper in the shin at Disney World. The Trooper took it like a champ. Slowly turned around, looked at him and used one of his pre-recorded comments. Later on that day, Kylo Ren tried to turn him to the dark side...

 

[izlez]

Was just looking at some old "bold predictions" for another reason and came across this...

9 bold NHL predictions for 2019 - Sportsnet.ca

7. Gritty will get arrested. His googly mug shots will go viral.
You can’t convince me he’s not up to something shady, and Tommy Hawk has already broken down barriers in terms of public behaviour for mascots.

 

[ElLeetch]

WTF, i love Gritty now!

 

[GindyDraws]

...is anyone doing that here? It's certainly an odd situation with a lack of information public at this moment, but this wouldn't be the first time a mascot has caused injury and gotten a team sued.

Heck, if anything, a mascot breathes on someone incorrectly, there's ramifications. Companies are more than ever worried about public relations that you can't just pay a wino $20 and some Bud Ice to stand around anymore. Finesse, crisis management, and general so-called "soft skills" (which are ways you deal with your fellow man) are integral to the people in mascot costumes, not to mention background checks.

I'm not saying it's unlikely, I'm just saying the people that have to get hired have to be the kinds who aren't easily gonna wig out & start breaking spines with their fists of fury. This makes the whole thing more suspicious.

 

[David Dennison]

Heck, if anything, a mascot breathes on someone incorrectly, there's ramifications. Companies are more than ever worried about public relations that you can't just pay a wino $20 and some Bud Ice to stand around anymore. Finesse, crisis management, and general so-called "soft skills" (which are ways you deal with your fellow man) are integral to the people in mascot costumes, not to mention background checks.

I'm not saying it's unlikely, I'm just saying the people that have to get hired have to be the kinds who aren't easily gonna wig out & start breaking spines with their fists of fury. This makes the whole thing more suspicious.

Shots f***ing fired.

 

[Royale With Cheese]

Back in my day, Gritty used to kill kids, not just punch them.

 

[DougKnowsBest]

Perfect Philly icon.

Yeah. Full of shit

 

[Sharks2020]

Broad Street Bully

 

[zizbuka]

There needs to be some risk for people suing. It's way too easy, just find a greasy lawyer and file the paperwork, knowing the rich corporation will likely settle. They should have to at least pay the defendants legal fees.