Man in Critical Condition After Raiders-Ravens Fan Fight
I will admit, “you threw snowballs at Santa” has a ring that “you almost killed a guy” doesn’t have: According to the Baltimore Sun, 55-year-old Joseph Bauer is in critical condition after he got into a fight with two Raiders fans at the game in Baltimore this weekend. Bauer got into an altercation with Scott Smith, 30, and Andrew Nappi, 31, of New York state – both Raiders fans. As the Sun tells it, “Nappi told police that the men argued, and Bauer threw a bottle that hit Smith in the head…Nappi told police he punched Bauer in the face, police said. Bauer’s wife, Sharon, told police Smith shoved Bauer to the ground and he hit his head. A witness, Gary Greggs, confirmed the account to officers.”
Bauer is “not responsive and not awake” and the family says they don’t know the extent of the brain damage he suffered. Bauer’s sister said the doctors gave him a 30 percent chance of survival.
A statement from the Ravens said:
Our sympathies and prayers go out to Mr. Joseph Bauer, his wife Sharon and the rest of his family. We have reached out to the family and have received a report on Mr. Bauer’s condition.
We are deeply concerned about this assault and are learning as much as we can about it. Safety for our fans is a top priority. Confrontational and inflammatory behavior is never tolerated and is unacceptable at Ravens home games.
John Harbaugh said “that’s just not what we’re about,” and called the games “a family atmosphere.” I’m guessing being on the sideline and not in the stands has skewed his outlook a bit because “family atmosphere” doesn’t describe many NFL games.
Smith and Nappi were each charged with first and second-degree assault.