# Any professional athletes been charged for violence on the field? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2008, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409 "2008-07-14T06:13:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/21 "2008-07-14T19:38:20Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] Look at this [picture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Marichal#Honors) in the just-cited article. My question is, what the heck is the guy depicted in that statue _doing_? If my total ignorance of baseball technique is on display here, then so be it. 😉 -FrL- [/QUOTE] He’s pitching. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/22 "2008-07-14T19:42:28Z")
[QUOTE=Labrador Deceiver] He’s pitching. [/QUOTE] Yep. Check out the Time Magazine cover on the same page for a stop motion animation showing the same pose. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/23 "2008-07-14T19:44:37Z")
Is this (still) a normal position for a pitcher’s body to be in at some point during the pitch? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/24 "2008-07-14T19:48:15Z")
No. It was never a normal position. That’s what made it so striking and memorable. Nobody who knows who Juan Marichal is would ever mistake that statue for anybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/25 "2008-07-14T19:55:16Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] No. It was never a normal position. That’s what made it so striking and memorable. Nobody who knows who Juan Marichal is would ever mistake that statue for anybody else. [/QUOTE] Got it, thanks! -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/26 "2008-07-14T21:35:42Z")
Marty McSorley immediately springs to mind. > **[Marty McSorley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_McSorley)** > > Martin James McSorley (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. A versatile player, he could play both the forward and defense positions. He was also head coach of the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League from 2002 to 2004. He was a valued teammate of Wayne Gretzky when they played together for the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, serving as an enforcer. > In 2000, his assault of Dona... ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/27 "2008-07-14T21:43:30Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Eric Cantona while playing for Man U. At the final whistle as he was leaving the field of play some guy in the crowd insulted him, Cantona saw his arse and jumped over the barrier wall and Kung-Fu kicked the bloke. [/QUOTE] Nitpick - it was as Cantona was being sent off. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/28 "2008-07-14T22:14:01Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Nitpick - it was as Cantona was being sent off. [/QUOTE] Nah-na-na-nanana 😛 Bloody Tractor boys ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/29 "2008-07-14T22:35:09Z")
[QUOTE=FoieGrasIsEvil] Marty McSorley immediately springs to mind. > **[Marty McSorley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_McSorley)** > > Martin James McSorley (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. A versatile player, he could play both the forward and defense positions. He was also head coach of the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League from 2002 to 2004. He was a valued teammate of Wayne Gretzky when they played together for the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, serving as an enforcer. > In 2000, his assault of Donal... [/QUOTE] That was the incident that first popped into my head when I saw the thread title. Thanks for coming up with the name. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/30 "2008-07-15T00:43:45Z")
Me, too. That bastard should have done time for that. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/31 "2008-07-15T01:38:39Z")
[Dino Ciccarelli](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dino_Ciccarelli) spent a day in jail for a stick attack on Luke Richardson. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/32 "2008-07-15T02:51:08Z")
Not a criminal charge, but Bill Romanowski was sued by teammate Marcus Williams over a fight that happened during practice (they were both on the Raiders at the time). > **[Williams awarded $340K in Romanowski trial](https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=2019325)** > > A jury ordered Bill Romanowski to pay former Raiders teammate Marcus Williams $340,000 in damages for smashing the tight end's face with a punch during a practice drill in 2003. I was involved with part of the case and met Williams briefly. Very polite, nice kid. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/33 "2008-07-15T07:12:39Z")
I remember that in 1999 there was a college pitcher that was upset that a batter was timing his swings during the warmup. When the batter turned in the on-deck circle, the pitcher threw a fastball into the guys head. It ended his career and nearly killed him. Sedgwick County, KS decided not to press charges. Anyone know the details? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/34 "2008-07-15T11:21:03Z")
That would be Ben Christensen of Wichita State (later drafted by the Cubs). Anthony Molina was hit in the head by Christensen for ‘timing his swings’ in the on deck circle during warm ups. Christensen later settled out of court with Molina. [http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/news/020205christensen.html](http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/news/020205christensen.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/35 "2008-07-15T14:55:32Z")
What the heck is “timing his swings”? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/36 "2008-07-15T15:54:49Z")
Standing in the warm up circle and swinging as the ball crosses the plate. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/37 "2008-07-15T15:59:39Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] Standing in the warm up circle and swinging as the ball crosses the plate. [/QUOTE] According to that article, he wasn’t in the on deck circle. \*When Molina ventured out of the on-deck circle and within 20 feet of home plate, Christensen fired a warmup pitch at him. The ball struck Molina above his left eye, breaking bones and permanently damaging his vision. \* Not that it justifies throwing at him but I’m not sure what the rules might stipulate. This happened pre-game. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/38 "2008-07-31T18:22:00Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] Then you hadn’t heard the (admittedly lame) joke: Why did Ron Artest leave the game early?He wanted to beat the crowd [/QUOTE] You wouldn’t understand. It’s a [“culture” thing](http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3512419). :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/39 "2008-07-31T18:27:29Z")
Joey Barton of Newcastle United has just been released from prison after serving a sentence for assault. The FA now intend charging him for an assault on an ex team mate while he was at Manchester City. I’m a Man City fan but I tell you, Barton is an out and out thug and the club is well rid of him ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409/40 "2008-08-01T01:42:43Z")
Ty Cobb went up into the stands and beat up a guy who was taunting him during a game in 1912. He was not charged but he would have been charged today, I bet. Oddly enough, the incident lead to the formation of the player’s union (to protect players from being heckled by fans, I guess). Albert Belle threw a ball at a heckler in 1990. I don’t see that any charges were brought against him, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-professional-athletes-been-charged-for-violence-on-the-field/456409.md?page=3)