04/20/24
October 27, 2006
Dallas Cowboys Coach Smells a Rat: Assistant coach Todd Haley is suing a Dallas McDonald's, claiming his wife and the family's live-in baby sitter found a six-inch-long dead rat in a salad they took home, but not until after they began to eat it.
"What is that?" "What?' "That. There's something in your teeth." "Where? Here?" "No. Other side. Looks like... feta?" "Is it lipstick?" "No. It's between your... oh, my god. It's a rat."
posted by BullpenPro at 11:58 AM on October 27, 2006
That is real trauma. You know that means that there are bits of rats or rat poop in all kinds of things over there. Another reason not to eat fast food. Of course, I had a friend who found a slug in her salad at Tavern on the Green, so what are you going to do?
posted by bperk at 12:02 PM on October 27, 2006
What did they do, eat around the rat? Maybe they didn't see the 6-inch rodent.
posted by roberts at 12:19 PM on October 27, 2006
Conspiracy theory... "Like my boy tells me; if it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, by golly, it is a rat."
posted by SummersEve at 12:30 PM on October 27, 2006
I was going to post something about this ... but we've had so many battles about what is and isn't appropriate, I didn't. How does this relate more directly to sports than some of the other posts than have either been deleted or poo-poo'd?
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:40 PM on October 27, 2006
Fair point, but I thought a coach for one American icon suing another American icon was linkworthy.
posted by rcade at 12:48 PM on October 27, 2006
Do you want fries with rat?
posted by Bill Lumbergh at 01:03 PM on October 27, 2006
It looks like T.O. isn't the only one who is angry about how much he gets the ball...
posted by kingosiris at 01:09 PM on October 27, 2006
Does anyone know if T.O.'s publicist, Kim Etheredge, works at this McDonalds?
posted by Termite at 01:11 PM on October 27, 2006
Sometimes I have to wonder about these kind of things. When I was a manager at a student dining hall which served 2-3k people a day, we had a student complain that her green beans were covered in flies. Now, mind you that a) These green beans come from a pan which serves ~50-100 people, b) she put the food in the trash before she would let us see it and c) she demanded her contract money back (you paid for an all-you-can-eat deal before each semester). She also happened to be the only student who complained of flies in her food and none of the line-servers saw them either. We called a BS on it though I would advise her to never work in a kitchen for a restaurant.
posted by jmd82 at 01:12 PM on October 27, 2006
"Like my boy tells me; if it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, by golly, it is a rat." Not just a rat, but a $1.7 million rat.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 01:32 PM on October 27, 2006
"The family needs closure," said Casterline, whose family's law firm is representing the plaintiffs. "It came to a point where you have to draw a line." $1.7 Mil worth of closure. I'm thinking after seeing the resultsof the Cowboys passing game against the Giants he's trying to make sure his family has some sort of income next year.
posted by scottypup at 01:52 PM on October 27, 2006
Absolutely, positively deliberately put in there by a disaffected Cowboy zealot. I mean, seriously, the rat crawled inside the salad container, and died? Unlikely. Someone put the salad in the container and missed the huge solid object? Unlikely, and virtually identical with the 'sfts2 theory of deliberate salad rat insertion'. And they think Philly fans are tough.
posted by sfts2 at 02:05 PM on October 27, 2006
By rat standards, 6 six inches is not that big at all. Half of that is it's tail. /Begins searching for pet stores in Dallas area. Asks to see store video of the people who bought rats in the past month.
posted by MrFrisby at 02:43 PM on October 27, 2006
Oh, sorry. My mistake. I saw the words "Dallas Cowboys Coach Smells a Rat" and thought this was just another story about T.O. Never mind.
posted by eccsport78 at 02:52 PM on October 27, 2006
Fair point, but I thought a coach for one American icon suing another American icon was linkworthy. I agree. In fact, I have no problem with almost any of the FPPs that turn up -- even the ones that get deleted. I think if it's even tangentally I just think if a n00b had been the submitter, there would be 10-15 of the old guard jumping his or her shit. Carry on.
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:18 PM on October 27, 2006
From PFT: The suit claims that the two women have undergone medical treatment to determine whether they have contracted any infectious diseases from the rodent, and that they have undergone counseling. And as we surmised on Thursday, Mr. Haley's claim is for loss of marital consortium. In other words, his marriage has been harmed via the injuries suffered by his wife. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Scuse while I weep big tears of grief for their trauma. Let's just hope the counseling helps.... And let me get this straight.... The have an "au pair" (effete speak for "nanny") and still have to eat salads from McDonalds? Her husband works with highly trained athletes and they still think the crap McD's serves is food? While I wouldn't be happy about a rodent in my salad, I doubt I'd even think to sue... And certainly I wouldn't think that I'm entitled to Millions because the McDonalds manager was rude when he drove out to my mansion... That manager was probably thinking what I was... "Why the H*** are these people eating McDonalds? Oh, did your domestic get ill... How shocking." Thank goodness that they don't like to feed the illegal immigrant maid, or who would have called the lawyer? http://www.tommypennington.com/mls/southlake6.htm It's getting to the point where a man doesn't even feel safe in his $5 Million dollar home.
posted by LostInDaJungle at 03:42 PM on October 27, 2006
That rat must have been watching the Dallas O-line when he was eating that last salad.
posted by soco at 03:45 PM on October 27, 2006
While I wouldn't be happy about a rodent in my salad, I doubt I'd even think to sue... And certainly I wouldn't think that I'm entitled to Millions because the McDonalds manager was rude when he drove out to my mansion... I would sue. That's pretty much the only way to get corporations to change their unsanitary methods. And, feeling like someone listened and cared and was getting to the bottom of things is the best way to avoid a lawsuit. Apparently that didn't happen here.
posted by bperk at 04:24 PM on October 27, 2006
I thought this was another T.O. contreversy. That's all that they talk about, it's getting old. But a Rat in a Salad that is sick. I'd sue also.
posted by yachts360 at 06:01 PM on October 27, 2006
this is sick but maybe he needs more money from jerry jones to complete his game just kidding but that just seems crazy
posted by luther70 at 06:14 PM on October 27, 2006
This really hits a personal pet (rat) peeve of mine: Who the hell buys a salad at MCDONALDS anyway? If you're trying to eat healthy, you're in the WRONG place. This kind of reminds me of Mcdonald's brief foray into offering Shrimp Salad. Boy, talk about a bad idea (both for the restaurant and anyone foolhardy enough to order it) That being said, if this is true and that's a big IF (Excuse me, sir, I ordered the RAT FREE salad), I would definitely sue.
posted by cjets at 06:37 PM on October 27, 2006
If a rat in a salad (not put there by either member of the married couple) affects your marriage, then it wasn't stable to begin with. The person who DIDN'T eat the salad is the one who filed suit? Odd. I'm assuming his wife is not a minor. I agree that if any member except for admin posts this, they would have gotten a stern talking to. (all though I personally find it some what interesting). If this was an episode of Fear Factor, and all the contestants had to do was eat some salad that was around a rat, most people would be like, what the hell kind of sissy stunt is that? If the manager of the Mcdonalds agreed to finish the salad, I'd drop the law suit. I can think of a number of questions that were asked before that salad was eaten, beginning with, Does this smell funny to you? I don't think Mcdonalds can use the "you have already eaten half of it" argument in this case, when they tried to return it. Lastly, they should be thankful that it wasn't a species that lays eggs. They would be plagued for a long time wondering, "was that a crunchy olive? Or maybe a soggy crouton? Or did that thing lay an egg before it died?
posted by Bishop at 07:20 PM on October 27, 2006
I just think if a n00b had been the submitter, there would be 10-15 of the old guard jumping his or her shit. Agreed.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:23 PM on October 27, 2006
First, I agree with Mr.Frisby that a six inch rat is really a very small rat, though I don't want one in my salad thank you very much. What I want to know is, what long-lasting physical injuries did they endure? The article states: According to the lawsuit, Christine Haley and Kelley had eaten part of the salad purchased June 5 at a McDonald's in Southlake before the rat was discovered. The women became violently ill and endured long-lasting physical injuries, the lawsuit said. I can see becoming violently ill, and I can see suing for a couple hundred thousand. But 1.7 mil? Like the finger in Wendy's chili last year, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Lastly, are you aware that the USDA has limits on how much rodent excrement is allowed in food products. and that the limit is not zero?
posted by dviking at 07:24 PM on October 27, 2006
Who the hell buys a salad at MCDONALDS anyway? Everyone who has to get a quick lunch but is trying to eat healthy? A salad is a salad. What dressing you choose has more to do with how healthy it is than if it came from mcdonalds. So to answer your question, millions of people.
posted by justgary at 07:58 PM on October 27, 2006
Didn't Black Sabbath write a song about this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Salad
posted by ajaffe at 08:16 PM on October 27, 2006
Everyone who has to get a quick lunch but is trying to eat healthy? A salad is a salad. C'mon. A Mcdonald's salad? If someone's quick healthy lunch options are so dire that they even can't get a salad from a local supermarket or 7-11 (yes, 7-11, at least you can see the salad and its expiration date before you purchase it), then I understand ordering a McDonald's salad. But for me, if I'm visiting Ronald's (said with a french accent, of course), I stick to what they're good at and stay away from the afterthoughts buried in their frig.
posted by cjets at 09:48 PM on October 27, 2006
This thread has NOTHING to do with sports, not even on a reach. It should be deleted.
posted by tommybiden at 10:22 PM on October 27, 2006
So, who's the n00b who posted this crap, anyw--oh, hey, rcade, didn't see ya there, buddy. Great FPP! And that's one sweet unitard, too.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 07:04 AM on October 28, 2006
...the rodent was about 6 inches long and was found on its back with its mouth opened... The rat was probably done in by a steady diet of left over fries, burgers, etc. PETA will be after McDonalds for what they are doing to innocent rats everywhere.