During the first week of the season, Cleveland Browns fans watched in horror as all the hype from the offseason didn’t translate to good team play as the Tennessee Titans came in their place and rolled all over them from the 2nd quarter on.
During the late stages of that game, cameras caught a Browns fan throwing beer on a Titans player after he jumped up towards the stands after Baker Mayfield was intercepted.
One fan would soon take to Twitter and reveal that he got a call from the Browns about being identified as that fan and he was effectively banned from the stadium. Only problem here is that the fan stated he wasn’t at the game.
Fast forward to October and the Browns are now getting hit with a lawsuit for that mistake, according to ESPN. Eric Smith is suing the team due to him being blamed for pouring beer on Tennessee Titans cornerback Logan Ryan at the Browns season opener.
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“According to his attorney Bruce Taubman, Smith is seeking a public retraction from the Browns, in addition to financial damages.
The Browns, who later apologized to Smith privately, according to the complaint, issued a statement later in the week saying they had “not explicitly identified the individual involved or taken any formal action of punishment.”
On the day the incident happened, Smith said he at a wedding because he was the DJ.
“He just kind of doubled down on everything like, ‘We know it was you.’ And I got mad, I got really angry and I started raising my voice at him. He said, ‘You don’t have to get defensive. If you are innocent, then you wouldn’t be so defensive and if you are not a fan like you say, then this won’t matter to you.’ I was like, well it kind of matters,”
The fan who threw that beer reportedly has not been identified.
“Yeah, you know, in this day and age it’s ridiculous,” Ryan said. “I understand that we play football. I understand that we’re modern-day gladiators. I understand that fans feel like they can yell and say and degrade, whatever, but you know, we’re human beings.
“And I think in society nowadays that’s, with everything going on and everybody deserving their rights, I think as a player to hop up over the rail and to have beer splashed in your face and you’re not allowed to respond. … Fans are allowed to throw beer in our face and yell whatever they want to yell at us and there’s no penalty?”
