A Surrey man in his 20s is facing a $115 fine – and likely several bruises – after being tackled by a CFL player during an attempted streaking.
The brazen BC Lions fan ran onto the field during Saturday's home opener wearing just a jersey and a pair of boxer-briefs, but he didn't make it far.
Part way across the field he was levelled with a quick shoulder hit from Lions' defensive back Marcell Young, and came crashing down to the ground. He was then escorted off the field by BC Place security and an on-duty Vancouver police officer.
The strange stunt occurred during a pause in play in the second quarter of a game against the Alouettes.
On Monday, police announced that not only was the man's pride injured but he'd also been fined for his actions. The ticket was issued under the trespass act for "trespass on enclosed land or premises, or engage in prohibited activity."
Sgt. Jason Robillard said the fan was escorted out of the building and transported to the VPD jail, as he was "unable to care for himself due to his degree of alcohol intoxication."
When he sobered up the next morning, he was released.
The man, who has not been publicly identified, was not charged with a criminal offence. He was given a year-long ban from the stadium, however.
At the time, some fans posted on social media that they wondered why security didn't tackle the man before Young got to him. Some said they were nowhere near him at the time.
But a spokesperson for BC Place said Sunday that staff acted as they were supposed to. If there is no imminent threat, their policy is not to chase them and risk further injury.
Some wondered whether Young's actions would result in punishment, but the team said no disciplinary action would be taken against the seven-year CFL veteran. Some of his teammates congratulated him with chest bumps and high-fives.
Not everyone agreed that the actions were deserving of congratulations.
A personal injury lawyer who watched video of the incident reacted by saying, "Well, that was dumb."
Young has no training on how to deal with the situation, lawyer John Green told CTV News. If he did, he would have dealt with it differently.
Green said being tackled is painful even in full football gear, so the concern with a person who isn't wearing a helmet being tackled is whether it has a negative effect. If the person is injured, then the player, the team and even the stadium could be on the hook for an injury payout.
"The injuries would have to be pretty severe, I think, to justify taking this kind of a case on," Green said.
"If he's hurt then yeah, I think there's a pretty good case to be made that the hit should never have been made the way it was. It's an assault, that's what you would be alleging."
Green said he's seen lots of similar cases involving bouncers in bars, and in the case of the pantsless Lions fan, it wouldn't matter that he'd broken the rules by running onto the field.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith
