Karl-Anthony Towns’ dad may sue Timberwolves and mascot Crunch for injuring him

As reported by Michael McCann over at Sports Illustrated, Karl Towns Sr., father of Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns Jr., is considering a lawsuit against the team and their mascot, Crunch.

During a home game against the Indiana Pacers on January 26th, Crunch overshot a sledding stunt and slammed into an empty front row seat next to the aisle. That seat, unfortunately, crashed into the right knee of the fan sitting in the next seat, Karl Towns Sr.

This is apparently a stunt that Crunch performs at every home game, and there are no other known reports of injury. However, if it can be shown that the person in the wolf costume was negligent in any way, both he and the Timberwolves organization can be found responsible in a court of law.

This accident occurred with 5:53 remaining in the second quarter of the game. Event staff responded immediately and gave the 54 year old Towns Sr. an ice pack for the swelling, but he refused to take their advice to leave the arena and seek medical attention. He insisted that his absence would distract his son, who finished with 33 points and 10 rebounds with his dad in the arena.

Three weeks later, Towns Sr. was seen at the NBA All-Star weekend’s Rising Stars Challenge supporting his son. He was reportedly on crutches and in obvious pain as he moved around.

There is a precedent for fans to file suit against an organization for an injury during an activity that is part of the “game presentation.” Although the Kansas City Royals won their case when a fan took a hot dog to the eye, Crunch and the Timberwolves could indeed be found liable here.

The real question here is how quickly the T’Wolves will settle if Towns Sr. continue to pursue this. KAT is their future franchise player and, as most talking heads agree, on track to be the best player in their organization since Kevin Garnett.

Would the organization really fight this in court, knowing it could hurt their chances to sign KAT long-term once his contract is up? That is highly doubtful.

They may also want to consider renaming their mascot to something that doesn’t make it sound like he did this on purpose.