The Cleveland Division of Police says it has identified the suspect that broke into FirstEnergy Stadium and drove a pickup truck onto the field and caused damage to it.
The suspect is 21-year-old Anthony Robert Westley O’Neal. They know who he is, but he is still not in custody.
The damage he caused to the field was still obvious before their Week 12 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. FOX8 reported a security manager said he saw a man jump the fence before walking into the stadium, taking two Browns scarves and eventually getting into a Ford F-150 pickup truck and driving it on the field.
O’Neal would then drive circles on the grass in the F-150. Initial reports said it was a Golf cart but visuals of the field show it was a much bigger vehicle. Once he was down with his donuts, he simply left.
“We are aware of the incident that occurred early Tuesday morning at FirstEnergy Stadium and has provided the Cleveland Division of Police with all relevant information,” the Browns said in a statement at the time.
“Based on our internal evaluation, there was some superficial damage to the playing field that our grounds maintenance team is currently working to repair. We take great pride in the strong reviews and reputation of our stadium’s playing surface, [we] have been in touch with the NFL on the matter and are confident after repair our field will be ready for Sunday’s game vs. the Tampa Buccaneers.”
It’s not clear how the suspect was identified.
The Browns won the game against Tampa, 23-17. This past Sunday, the team was on the road to take on the Houston Texans as Deshaun Watson made his return from suspension. Watson had a turbulent offseason that included multiple sexual misconduct allegations, hearings with court appointed judges, a six game suspension extended out to 11 games, and having his public image essentially destroyed.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
His first game back didn’t go very well as Watson threw for 131 yards at a 12/22 completion rate and was intercepted once. It’s been 700 days since his last start, so his play was expected.
The Browns still won the game with ease.
