Fan who jumped from Yankee Stadium upper deck is banned

 

August 9, 2006

 

NEW YORK (AP) -- A baseball fan who jumped from the upper deck at Yankee Stadium onto the netting behind home plate has been banned for life from the ballpark and could be sent to jail, a judge said Wednesday.

 

Scott Harper, 19, of Armonk, N.Y., pleaded guilty Wednesday to reckless endangerment following last season's plunge at the New York Yankees' Bronx stadium. District Attorney Robert Johnson recommended probation and restitution to the Yankees, but Harper rejected the deal.

 

Harper's criminal sentence, to be handed down Sept. 19, will depend on the outcome of another case in Westchester County for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, state Supreme Court Judge Troy Webber said.

 

The district attorney's office recommended 30 days in jail; Harper had faced up to a year.

 

A telephone message left at Harper's home was not immediately returned Wednesday.

 

Harper dropped about 40 feet onto the large net, which stops foul balls from flying back into the stands, during the eighth inning of an Aug. 10, 2005, game against the Chicago White Sox. The game was delayed for four minutes while he was removed.

 

After the final out, Harper was carried from the ballpark on a stretcher, his head immobilized in a neck brace, and taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released.

 

Harper told three friends with whom he was sitting that he was going to test whether the net would hold his weight and then jumped, police said.

 

After landing, he sat with his head in his hands for a few moments before climbing on the net back up to the middle level of seats while players watched and the crowd roared. He then was hoisted over the railing and led away by security.

1 year anniversary!

It was harmless. 30 days in jail is laughable.

If there is one thing wrong with this country, it's those damn kids jumping into foul screens.

It was harmless. 30 days in jail is laughable.

 

that's an idiotic statement, he could have killed himself easily, and could have easily landed on someone else who was sitting below the foul screen.

 

that's not harmless.

It was harmless. 30 days in jail is laughable.

 

 

It would not have been harmless had that screen broke. Not to him self or any of the people below. There would have been the inevitible law suits by the people injured or killed that he landed on. Not to mention his family would have filed suit. Stupidity to this degree should be criminal.

I forget who it was, but somebody (I think for us, an infielder) actually made a decent defensive play as the kid fell, despite looking freaked out after seeing the kid jump before finishing off the play.

How the hell can the Yankees enforce a lifetime ban with 50,00+ entering the stadium every game?

And I was hoping you were going to say Joe Posnaski from the Kansas City Star for a minute.

I forget who it was, but somebody (I think for us, an infielder) actually made a decent defensive play as the kid fell, despite looking freaked out after seeing the kid jump before finishing off the play.

 

Crede. I remember it well. He stopped dead in his tracks for a second, and I was wondering what the hell he was doing. It took a minute for them to tell us that somebody had fallen onto the net.