Pirates suspend employee after video shows him punching, whipping fan with belt in postgame altercation

Yahoo

06-05-2025

A fan and employee got into a bizarre incident after the Pirates' game on Tuesday. (Photo by)
A Pittsburgh Pirates gameday employee has been suspended by the team following a postgame altercation with a fan that was caught on video, per CBS Pittsburgh's Barry Pintar.
The altercation reportedly occurred at PNC Park following Sunday's game, a 4-0 loss to the San Diego Padres. Per CBS, it started when the fan and his friend allegedly started harassing a female concession stand employee.
The gameday employee, who has not been identified, reportedly intervened and diverted the two men away from his coworker, at which point the situation got heated with a face-to-face argument. Video taken by a bystander shows the employee trying to walk away but being followed and taunted by the fan. In the video, the employee eventually responds by throwing punches.
The employee appears to land five punches to the head of the fan, who stays on his feet. Later, the fan is seeing spitting on the employee, who then takes off his belt and starts whipping the fan.
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The Pirates released a statement to CBS saying that the employee has been suspended and the matter is under investigation:
"We are aware of the unfortunate incident that occurred following the conclusion of yesterday's game between a PNC Park game day employee and a guest. The employee's behavior was entirely unacceptable, and he was immediately suspended. This incident is currently under further investigation."
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, which sent officers to the stadium to respond to the scene, is also reportedly investigating. No criminal charges had been filed as of Tuesday morning, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
This is the second bizarre incident to occur at PNC Park in the past week, though with far less serious consequences. A 20-year-old man named Kavan Markwood has been hospitalized for nearly a week after falling over the 21-foot wall in right field and lying motionless on the warning track.
Markwood is reportedly awake and alert and has taken his first steps, but he's still dealing with a broken neck, clavicle and back. A GoFundMe for him had raised more than $45,000 as of Tuesday evening.