Can we please put a stop to mascot violence in America?
The Phoenix Suns' mascot learned a valuable lesson when it comes to not kicking a fan when he's down. It turns out a fan got the last laugh, and punch, at the expense of the beloved NBA mascot
The Suns' Gorilla was up to his normal shenanigans at a Dave & Buster's in Tempe when he attempted to high-five a fan named Timothy Austin, who refused, because he was a Miami Heat fan.
Nevertheless, the Arizona Republic reports, the favorite of hoops-loving fan in the Valley of the Sun turned to his bag of antics, playfully kicking Austin, who apparently doesn't have much of a sense of humor, because he then went all Mike Tyson and PUNCHED the Suns' mascot.
That will teach him!
Soon after all the hullabaloo, police officers were called to determine if any criminal charges would be filed against the temperamental fan and the scatterbrain mascot in this knock-down-drag-out donnybrook.
"After explaining that both subjects could be charged with assault and arrested, they both agreed not to press charges," the Arizona Republic reported via a police report.
We should point out a gentleman named Robert Woolf, who's played the Gorilla since 1988, but according to the Republic doesn't perform stunts during games, was wearing the costume along with other Suns employees on Tuesday night when all this foolishness went down.
The Gorilla first appeared at Suns games in 1980, and he was inducted into the first class of the iconic Mascots Hall of Fame in 2005. Dave Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic, founded the out-of-this-world funny business.
Over the years, the Suns Gorilla has made appearances in Australia, China, Germany, the Netherlands and many other countries around the world, and it's good to know prison won't be added to that list.
-- Follow Ben Maller on Twitter @BenMaller.
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