Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night apparently ruffled some major feathers within the animal rights community.
The 5-3 Penguins victory was marred by an incident in the second period where play was delayed after a Predators fan threw a dead catfish on the ice.
Premature fish on the ice pic.twitter.com/OTCtbNW32B
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) May 30, 2017
The fan in question was promptly identified and ejected from the game.
So this dude just got kicked out of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final for throwing a catfish on the ice. pic.twitter.com/DzLK6l1Mv5
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) May 30, 2017
TMZ Sports reports that the fan was 36-year-old Jacob Waddell and that he has been charged with “disorderly conduct, possessing instruments of crime and disrupting meetings/processions,” punishable by up to six years in prison if he is convicted on all counts.
In the wake of the incident, PETA put out the following statement:
UPDATE: PETA issues statement in response to #Preds fan throwing catfish on ice in Pittsburgh last night. pic.twitter.com/sNTbXrpkF8
— NewsChannel 5 (@NC5) May 30, 2017
Tossing dead catfish onto the ice is actually something of a Predators fan tradition (you can read more about it here). But nonetheless, Monday’s incident was clearly seen as something much more serious than harmless fun.
