I'm starting this as a separate thread, because the existing thread on the bat incident has veered off into comedy and this is a serious question.

I've finally had a chance to see a clear videotape of the Randall Simon bat tap on the woman wearing the Italian sausage costume the other day. Now I'm outraged. The one shown from the Milwaukee TV broadcast, linked in the other thread (video link here) didn't show the tap clearly.

Simon did not swing his bat at the woman in the costume. He reached up and tapped the hat part of her costume -- obviously well above where any part of the person would be. Even that light tap caused the woman to fall over. Technically, what Simon did was commit an assault and battery, and I have no problem with his sentence: a fine of about $400. I think the baseball fine is wholly excessive, but I guess Bud Selig loves those hometown sausages, so I'm not going there.

What I do have a problem with is the Milwaukee police. What was the point of leading Simon away in handcuffs? He's a major league ballplayer. It's not like he's a flight risk.

Milwaukee has a reputation of being a very racist city. Randall Simon is a large, very dark-skinned Afro-Caribbean man. I can't help but thinking that if was your classic white all-American jock type who playfully tapped a sausage on the sausage cap, there would've been no handcuffs at all and no ride in the squad car.

Is this racism in M'waukee?

You are making quite a supposition... I think in this politically correct era ANY PLAYER swinging a bat at a mascot causing her to fall would have been treated the same. Even the female inside the character acknowledges that when she saw the tape it looked worst on tape than it was in reality. The cops could be sued if they didn't do ENOUGH if she turned up hurt later. -- I'm glad she didn't sue ,though...She is one of the few people NOT to sue when she had the chance which I find refreshing.

[ July 13, 2003, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: copman ]

Charlie FYI the Head of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department is an African-American, David Clark, who is cute by the way. I don't think race had anything to do with him being led away he committed a criminal act, and should be taken into custody like any other citizen. It shouldn't matter because he was an athlete.