On May 12, when Craig Coakley stripped with only a stuffed monkey placed to cover his private parts and became the first person to streak at Citi Field, he broke the law. He was taken down by Atlanta Braves players and quickly escorted from the field.
The Queens goofball pleaded guilty last week to disrupting a professional sporting event and was sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine, 20 days of community service and another $2,000 in civil penalties to be paid to the Mets. He has been banned for life from Citi Field and other Mets facilities.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown snorted that the ban was “perhaps the worst punishment for any true Mets fan.”
We think Brown, the courts and the Mets may be overreacting. The court must make it clear streaking will not be tolerated at sporting events. As far as we know, there have been no copycats at Citi Field or any other city arena.
But no one was hurt. If one goes to the videotape, it appears most fans were entertained by the streaker, with “Let’s Go Mets!” scrawled on his torso. The incident lasted a few seconds.
We are not sure why the Mets get $2,000. The fine and community service seem fair. But the ban is overkill. We agree with Coakley’s boss, who said the prank was “all in good fun.”
That is more than can be said for the 2009 Mets season.
