Seahawks Fan Sues Shaun Ellis of Jets Over Stadium Snowball Toss
A Seattle Seahawks fan and season ticket holder has sued Shaun Ellis of the Jets, alleging physical injury, humiliation, mental distress, pain and wage loss as a result of allegedly being hit with a large snowball on his home team’s turf.
A YouTube video linked to the TMZ report of the lawsuit seemingly may show the icy altercation between the defensive end and plaintiff Robert Larson, who says in his suit that he was a target for Ellis’ post-game aggravation because he was displaying a large pro-Seahawks sign at the game.
The clip shows a blue-clad fan leaning over a corner railing holding a large white sign in front of the exiting Jets following a 13-3 loss to Seattle in 2008 that eliminated the New York team from the playoffs. A player who is apparently Ellis detours to one side to pick up a large ball of snow from a pile at the edge of the field and then tosses it into the stands, striking the man who had been holding the sign.
Although momentarily knocked to one side by the snowball, that individual does not, however, appear to be seriously injured in the clip as he dances around and waves his arms in the air afterward.
Ellis was fined $10,000 at the time for “tossing a large snow clump in the direction of fans,” a National Football League spokesman said, explaining that doing so violated a rule against “any contact with fans that potentially presents crowd-control issues and risk of injury,” reports the New York Post.
The action seeks unspecified damages.
