Oh, I'm sure you've all heard or read about the streaker that disrupted Thursday's UCLA-Arizona game on ESPN. The guy gets on the field dressed as a referee and blows his whistle to halt play. Chaos erupts soon after.
In the aftermath, 10 players from the two schools were suspended for a fracas that took place at the end of the first half, but the biggest loser was the clown who had the lack of stones to try this stunt. Jace Lankow now says he did it in order to get on the TV series, Wipeout, which, coincidentally, airs on ESPN's corporate cousin, ABC. Lankow, a student at Arizona, scammed his way in by using a fake access pass, and had just about everyone fooled. Now, understand that the game aired opposite the 2nd game of the World Series, so there was little chance of anyone actually seeing Lankow's little stunt. Lankow's been charged with a Class 6 felony for criminal impersonation, since he masqueraded as a game official, and that carries with it a sentence of 18 months in jail. It can be cut down to a misdemeanor, which may be the only thing that saves Lankow from further embarassment and enables him to fulfill his dream of getting on Wipeout or any other reality game show.
Oh, by the way, Arizona won the game, 42-7.
I would suggest that Lankow does the time, though not quite the maximum, but I don't see him getting on TV any time soon. To do that says he's getting rewarded for his stupidity. In college, you're supposed to be finishing your education and building a reasonable career. Lankow represents the perception that some of these guys haven't much better to do between classes. Well, as a sports fan and a game show fan myself, I have some nice prizes for Lankow. A Dunce Cap and a pair of weasel ears.
2 comments:
I find it even more disturbing that this idiot was able to use a fake access pass to pull this stunt!
No one noticed it was fake or that this guy didn't belong? What would have happened if someone with a more menacing intent was slipping into the game?
For the record, my local TV station did end up airing the story since one of the anchors is an alumnus of Arizona and therefore a Cardinals fan.
Lankow probably had a friend who was working security and was in on the stunt, but we'll never know for sure.
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