May 08, 2007

Being a Mets fan is a pain in the back: Ellen Massey, 58, has filed suit, claiming a 300-pound man fell on her during the Mets' home opener this season. She suffered a broken back and other injuries. Massey, a Manhattan lawyer, named Sterling Mets L.P., owner of the baseball team; Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp., the beer vendor; the Service Employees International Union Local 177, whose members are security guards at Shea Stadium, and "John Doe," the unidentified man who fell on her, as defendants.

posted by wfrazerjr to baseball at 02:56 PM - 34 comments

Hospitalized for two weeks? That seems quite a bit more serious than the "you know when you go to the ballpark" type thing.

posted by bperk at 03:10 PM on May 08, 2007

I can speak from experience ( I suffered 6 fractured vertebrae in a car accident), that this injury is the most pain that I have ever felt. I had to lay on my back for 3 months, and I didn't even require surgery. HOWEVER, I am not so sure that the ballpark can be held responsible for the actions of an adult. If she wants to sue someone, she needs to find the dude who injured her. The first thing I thought after reading this was: Her "adult nephews" are pussies! If anyone hurt my Aunt, or anyone in my family for that matter, they wouldn't just get up and walk away. There would be hell to pay.

posted by yay-yo at 03:22 PM on May 08, 2007

I'm no lawyer, of course, but I think she probably has a case. A safe environment to enjoy a ballgame doesn't seem to be too much to ask, particularly when you add in the possibility that the man may have been overserved on the premises. I say award her a relief pitchers contract. Seems fair.

posted by THX-1138 at 04:14 PM on May 08, 2007

yay-yo, why am I not surprised that you used the word "pussies" as a synonym for "cowards"? There are ways to make your point that don't insult half the human race.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:37 PM on May 08, 2007

Many years ago I was sitting in lousy seats with my brother in the upper deck at Shea. Sparse crowd. Nobody else anywhere around us. Along come these two guys, one a grizzly, burly dude, wearing cutoff jean shorts that were not cutoff where they should have been (what mens cutoff jeans are?), staggering up the aisle. They enter in the row in front of us, and the burly guy sits right in front of me. Both of these guys are loaded, and they start trying to formulate sentences in the direction of my brother and I. We look at each other, and without saying a word, we pretty much know we both want to find somewhere else in the wide open upper deck to sit. I lean over to grab the stuff I put under my chair, and the burly dude (pretty freakin' strong) grabs my neck in a headlock and pulls me over his shoulder so my head is in his lap. An uncomfortable position, and I cannot see the game (or anything else that I would ever care to see again). I am not the fighting sort, and I am in no mood for getting my ass publicly kicked by somebody wearing those shorts, so I wrench myself loose and I run -- not walk, run -- to find other seats. We finally decide we are well enough out of vision and we sit down in seats that are much worse than the seats we left (we had been directly behind home plate). We aren't there five minutes before an usher comes up and asks to see our tickets. When he sees that we aren't in our ticketed seats, he tells us gruffly that we have to return from whence we came. Naturally, we tell him the ugly tale of our original seating arrangement. His response is that if we have a problem with a visitor we have to go to security and file a formal complaint but we cannot take any but our ticketed seats. I have no interest in revisiting my earlier nightmare with security, let alone missing a good chunk of the baseball game while playing he said/he said with Captain Cutoffs and some jaded security goon. So my brother and I spend the remainder of the game roaming the upper deck, sitting for up to 15 minutes at a time before catching an usher approaching and moving on. Finally, at the start of the ninth inning of a Fat Sid shutout against the Padres, an usher catches up to us and kicks us out of the park. Only time that has ever happened to me. Summary: this woman deserves every penny from the Mets she gets, and I am rooting for a landmark decision. I think it is certainly due her -- the Mets are either responsible for allowing a drunk into the park or for getting him in that condition -- and I can also identify with how awful it is to have to sit in the upper deck at Shea. Their stadium security is a joke.

posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 05:43 PM on May 08, 2007

yay-yo, why am I not surprised that you used the word "pussies" as a synonym for "cowards"? There are ways to make your point that don't insult half the human race. Uh, sorry? It must be an incredible burden to have to speak for 1/2 of the human race. How did my post about the Papi/Bonds issue offend you?

posted by yay-yo at 09:46 PM on May 08, 2007

How did my post about the Papi/Bonds issue offend you? Because, you used a term for women's genitalia as an insult. L_B_B, as a woman, presumably one with genitals, took offense. Using gender-specific terms as insults is sometimes considered offensive by the gender whose specific term is being used.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:55 AM on May 09, 2007

The fact that the security guard let the faller leave seems pretty negligent.If they had kept him on site then she could sue him instead. A stadium is not a public arena, it is private property and so the owners are responsible.

posted by Fence at 07:28 AM on May 09, 2007

When will people finally learn, if you want to go to a baseball game in New York City where the fans are personable, sober, and well-behaved (and all trim and in fantastic shape), go to Yankee Stadium!

posted by dyams at 07:55 AM on May 09, 2007

I've had a 300lb man on top of me, too - I can tell you. It's no picnic. Wait - that came out wrong.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:16 AM on May 09, 2007

Please tell me you were a proffessional wrestler Weedy!?!?!?

posted by firecop at 08:32 AM on May 09, 2007

Oh, I'm a professional.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:12 AM on May 09, 2007

I've had a 300lb man on top of me, too - I can tell you. It's no picnic. Chikka Chikka Bow Wow.

posted by BornIcon at 09:25 AM on May 09, 2007

Glad to see the PC police is patroling this thread. I am a Mets fan, but I can vouch for the fact that the ushers are complete jerks, and the stadium security is practically nonexistant.

posted by BCHockey at 11:51 AM on May 09, 2007

Glad to see the PC police is patroling this thread. Yuh, them's wicked bitches round here brutha. Like them See Ewe Next Tuesdays from Simmons. Call Murph and Sully an' tell 'em it ain't safe fuh assholes round heah.

posted by yerfatma at 11:55 AM on May 09, 2007

I've had a 300lb man on top of me, too - I can tell you. It's no picnic. I'd pay good money to see that Weedy. Professionally speaking, I would love to have this case. Should be a slam dunk unless she gets a jury of her peers. She needs a jury of Yankee fans.

posted by irunfromclones at 12:14 PM on May 09, 2007

Glad to see the PC police is patroling this thread. I hope you mean Providence College.

posted by YukonGold at 01:59 PM on May 09, 2007

Franciscan v. Jesuit Dogfight!

posted by yerfatma at 03:53 PM on May 09, 2007

Glad to see the PC police is patroling this thread. If that's the best you can do, keep it to yourself, m'kay? yay-yo asked a question. I answered it. If you came here to start half-assed political arguments, kindly relocate elsewhere.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:00 PM on May 09, 2007

Because, you used a term for women's genitalia as an insult. If that's the case, is she speaking for 1/2 of the mammal species? I blame rap music for my poitically incorrect speach. Damn you TuPac and Biggie!! And yes, the PC police is always in full force. Unfortunately, even when you're not trying to, people get offended. Sometimes, you just can't win.

posted by yay-yo at 04:51 PM on May 09, 2007

Okay, yay-yo, let's hear it from the horse's mouth. Why do you use the term "pussy" to mean "coward", and why do you say that someone should "sack up and be a man" when you mean "behave with courage and integrity"? Sometimes, you just can't win. It is pretty damn hard when the common no-neck idiom equates your gender with cowardice and lack of integrity.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:06 PM on May 09, 2007

I would be happy if I never hear about political correctness ever again. It is used every time some fool says something completely and totally offensive. Somehow though, he/she is the one being wronged by the PC Police. Whatever. Stop saying stupid shit and you won't ever get arrested by the PC police.

posted by bperk at 07:18 PM on May 09, 2007

If that's the case, is she speaking for 1/2 of the mammal species? speach. Unfortunately, even when you're not trying to, people get offended. Sometimes, you just can't win. I think you mean the Homo Sapien species, mammals being a class of animals, like reptiles, or fish, or birds, or amphibians. It's speech, not speach. I know I've used this line before, but wasn't that Don Imus' exuse too?

posted by tommybiden at 07:21 PM on May 09, 2007

And yes, the PC police is always in full force. For the record, since you are commenting about groups always over-scrutinizing things, in your sentence, you use the term police as a plural, therefore the proper helping verb would be are as in And yes, the PC police are always in full force.

posted by hawkguy at 08:22 PM on May 09, 2007

And yes, the PC police are always in full force. And apparently, the grammar police ARE to. LBB, I honestly did not mean to offend you. Where I am from, the words "pussy", "faggot", and "bitch" are all interchangeable for "coward". I do see your point and I will try hard in the future to refrain from using slang so that I do not offend anyone. Sometimes I forget how sensitive people are, as I am not. It's very hard to offend me, unless you start talking shit about Kobe. (hahaha) I think you mean the Homo Sapien species, mammals being a class of animals, like reptiles, or fish, or birds, or amphibians. No, I was actually referring to mammals because of the fact that they have vagines (as Borat would say). But nice try! Why don't you go re-read the guidelines and stick to the topic instead of trying to be an asshole?

posted by yay-yo at 09:16 PM on May 09, 2007

This thread is giving me Shea Stadium flashbacks.

posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 09:59 PM on May 09, 2007

Where I am from, the words "pussy", "faggot", and "bitch" are all interchangeable for "coward". Why don't you go re-read the guidelines and stick to the topic instead of trying to be an asshole? Sounds like a plan, I'll go read them now. I'll summarize the guidelines for you here. "We trust the members of the community to treat others with the respect you would afford yourself." And "New members who post personal attacks and other abusive behavior will be banned." That's 2 times today you've called me an asshole.

posted by tommybiden at 10:16 PM on May 09, 2007

"New members who post personal attacks and other abusive behavior will be banned." That's 2 times today you've called me an asshole. And you have attacked at least 3 people TONIGHT for their grammar and other issues not related to sports.

posted by yay-yo at 10:41 PM on May 09, 2007

And honestly Tommy, I never called you an asshole. I have asked you repeatedly to stop acting like one. I have also asked you if you are one. If you can present me with my post that says, "Hey Tommy, you are an asshole." I will gladly leave and never come back.

posted by yay-yo at 10:49 PM on May 09, 2007

Stop lawyering, yay-yo, and step away from the keyboard. You are making no friends in this thread (or other threads in which you've commented today) and I highly doubt that anybody will support you based on your not-very-nuanced interpretations. However, should you continue your unpleasantness, you ought not be surprised to find yourself booted.

posted by avogadro at 10:58 PM on May 09, 2007

yay-yo, I understand the "where I come from" argument, but it only works if you stay in your own little briar patch. Venture outside it, and what flies at home may not fly in the big wide world -- and when it doesn't, it's not because the big wide world is too "sensitive". It's not unreasonable or overly sensitive for people to object when a word that's synonymous with their gender or sexual orientation is equated to cowardice or lack of integrity. That's called standing up for yourself, and when a man does that, it's called courage.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:10 AM on May 10, 2007

it's not because the big wide world is too "sensitive". I am sorry that you were offended. I never said the world was too sensitive, just obviously more sensitive than me. I have no idea how the term relates to sexual orientation, but that is neither here nor there. You are right, I was wrong. Now let's please move on.

posted by yay-yo at 11:38 AM on May 10, 2007

Gotcha, yay-yo. Thanks for reading and thinking and contributing -- I appreciate it.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:44 AM on May 10, 2007

On behalf of cats nationwide, none of whom can defend themselves on this forum, I object to yay-yo's offensive language. Nice work, "yerfatmama," although I must admit that I am neither Irish nor from Boston.

posted by BCHockey at 08:02 AM on May 11, 2007

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