The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night in a do-or-die game in the opening round of the MLB playoffs. But during the game, at a stadium bar and online, a different drama played out — one involving Twitter, an alleged assault on the wife of a Reds' pitcher and yet another glimpse into the ugly side of sports fandom in the digital age.
Our story begins with Dallas Latos, the wife of Mat Latos, a starting pitcher for the Reds. She was at PNC Park in Pittsburgh for the team's showdown with the Pirates. Late Tuesday night, a troubling stream of tweets from Latos' account detailed an alleged assault during play.
See also: Are Twitter's Sports Trolls Out of Control?
The story gets even worse, but first, take a look at Latos' account of getting attacked.
Got punched in the head at least 3 times by a pirates fan so this has been cool.
— Dallas Latos (@DallasLatos) October 2, 2013
Pittsburgh police can’t arrest anyone on assault accounts so I’m the one who spent the game talking to law enforcement after being attacked.
— Dallas Latos (@DallasLatos) October 2, 2013
I’m “fine” but my head hurts. Never swung back bc I was trying to protect myself. Will go to the doc when we get back. :/
— Dallas Latos (@DallasLatos) October 2, 2013
A pro athlete's wife getting physically attacked in the stands at an opposing team's ballpark is nasty enough, especially in light of last week's news that a Los Angeles Dodgers fan was stabbed to death during an altercation with rival fans after attending a Giants game in San Francisco.
But just as ugly is the reaction Latos' tweets provoked from some on Twitter, who called her names and accused her of lying. Still others said she was "deserving" the alleged attack and unnecessarily seeking public attention. Below is just a small sampling of the hateful deluge, which included well over 100 angry tweets.
@DallasLatos Hey sweetheart. Pirates fans aren't targeting you because Pirates fans don't know who the f*ck you are. Walk back to Cincy.
— Kyle Daugherty (@Kyle__Doc) October 2, 2013
@DallasLatos how did it feel to get your ass beat? hahah
— Will (@TWillli) October 2, 2013
@StaciRamaglia @MikeVtine well from the look of @DallasLatos avi, some skank who wants her 15 minutes of fame
— RachelDouglas (@RachelD8710) October 2, 2013
Pittsburgh police said they considered the case closed on Wednesday morning, and it's up to Latos to file charges if she wants to. No arrests were made.
The altercation involved "overzealous fans and banter back and forth between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati fans," Sgt. John Fisher said in a Wednesday morning press conference, according to the Associated Press. Fisher also added that everyone involved "appeared to be drinking and intoxicated to one level or another."
A full picture from Tuesday night may never become clear, but either way, the episode serves as a stark reminder of how social media can amplify the aggressive tendencies of some sports fans.
Image: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images