Kansas City Royals mascot, Sluggerrr, strikes fan with promotional hot dog; fan sues.

Generally, the subject matter of this blog is quite serious.  My three previous posts were about religion, a sexual transition, and a gay collegiate athlete who overcame suicidal urges.  In many ways, I prefer to respect the seriousness of addressing homophobia in sport (or in life), because to me, it truly is a matter that has “life or death” type consequences.

However, this story, from the Kansas City Star, was too good to pass up for some comedic relief.  John Coomer, while attending a Kansas City Royals game on September 8, 2009, was struck in the eye by a hot dog thrown into the stands by the Royal’s mascot, Sluggerrr.  The promotion started positively while Sluggerrr shot hot dogs into the stand from an air gun, and ended horribly when Sluggerrr started throwing them out by hand, striking Coomer in the eye.  Coomer filed a suit in the Jackson County Circuit Court claiming negligence and battery.

I will classify this story as within the scope of this blog because I’m a seriously law student eagerly interested in all sports related law, whether it be antitrust exemption or event promotions.  The real reason: it would be a disservice to humor everywhere to ignore the innuendo.

Certainly the plaintiff, John Coomer, does not find the situation as hilarious as us (or at least, me).  He alleges that the wiener-to-eye contact detached his retina and caused cataracts leading to two surgeries and permanent vision impairment in his left eye—damage exceeding $25,000.

Rather than go through the elements of battery and negligence learned last semester in torts class (I’m tempted to forward this story to my professor to use as an example for a future test), I will just say that the case will probably not proceed far.  The Royals will have built into their ticket sales that any person attending their games assumes the liability from items flying into the stands through the course of the game activities or by promotion, regardless if that item is a stray ball or a stray wiener.

Jackson County Circuit Court, John Coomer, Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Star, Sluggerrr