Give Him Liberty, Or Give Him Beer: Rowdy Fan Says He Was 'Striking Back For Red Sox Nation'

When his colonial ancestors were being oppressed by a larger, more formidable power, they fought back the only way they knew how; with bold, guerrilla tactics. Could Red Sox fan Chris Sciesinski do any less? Trapped behind enemy lines at Tropicana Field, taunted and scorned beyond all reason by Tampa Bay Rays fans, Sciesinski struck back, attempting to rush the field in support of his beloved team. Foolhardy? Perhaps. Stupid? Probably. Total douchebaggery? OK, we get the point. But as Sciesinski looks back on the incident in which he was wrestled into submission by security and police atop the Rays dugout — shown here in this now-famous photo — he remains unbowed.

So what does Sciesinski have to say for himself? That he was tired of being hassled by security and the home crowd. Sciesinski said he was "striking back for Red Sox nation" for all the "hatred" from Rays fans. As for the photo: "Pretty cool."

But one of the St. Petersburg police officers who subdued him is himself under scrutiny: Pat McGovern is the officer shown in the photo holding a Taser gun to Scieinski's head. The only problem is that police policy forbids an officer "from either pointing or discharging a Taser at someone's face, head, neck or groin area." McGovern did not discharge the Taser. His superiors are reviewing the incident, police spokesman Bill Proffitt said. The greatest part of this story, however, is this:

Sciesinski, 33, pleaded no contest to the charge Thursday morning. He also admitted to chanting "Let's go, Red Sox!" in the back of the police van. The judge found him guilty. He was sentenced to the night he had already spent in jail and fined $375 and court costs.

More fun background:

The Sarasota DJ tells a different story. He wasn't drunk, he said, just "buzzed" after his third rum and Coke. He said he cursed in front of some kids but apologized. He said it was Rays fans who were being rowdy. He was just "heckling." He said he went limp when he got tackled and that he was threatened with the Taser after he had surrendered. And he said "they beat me up pretty bad."

Meanwhile we're all left to ask, why aren't we Tasering the people who really deserve it? Red Sox Fan Finds His Arrest Photo 'Pretty Cool' [Tampa Online]