Posted on 06/22/2004 5:44:55 AM PDT by Max Combined
A British man who danced a nearly nude jig on the field at this year's Super Bowl could see his 15 minutes of fame stretch to six months in jail.
A six-woman Harris County jury convicted Mark Roberts, 39, of criminal trespass Monday for his antics during the Feb. 1 championship game at Reliant Stadium.
Roberts dashed onto the field just before the second half kickoff wearing a fake referee's uniform. He tore off the uniform and cavorted for about 30 seconds near midfield with a deflated football taped over his genitals before New England Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham knocked him down.
"As far as I'm concerned, I just wanted to make people laugh," Roberts said Monday after the verdict was read. "I didn't come to America to break any laws. I just came to entertain the good American public."
He faces up to 180 days in jail and a maximum fine of $2,000. The sentencing phase of his trial will begin at 10 a.m. today.
Roberts' attorney, Sharon Levine, said her client was not told he could not go onto the field.
But prosecutor Kristin Guiney said Roberts purposely thwarted security guards and a barrier to get to the field, so he must've known fans were not permitted on the playing surface. He spent 20-45 seconds doing a jig in the middle of the field, Guiney said.
"It was Mark Roberts' Holy Grail," she said.
Levine said no signs or announcements prohibited spectators from going onto the field.
"There was nothing on the ticket stub saying you can't go onto the field," Levine told the jury during opening statements. "There was no announcement saying you can't go out onto the field. There were no signs saying you can't go out onto the field."
Roberts claims on his Web site to have streaked more than 380 times in the last 10 years, including the 2004 World Embassy Snooker Final in England and a rugby match between England and New Zealand last year. He said he often streaks for charity.
The Super Bowl streak apparently was for profit. Roberts had the name of an online casino painted on his body -- and visible on TV cameras -- at the time of his dash.
This is so 70s. <grin
And people wonder why there are warnings on lawn mowers: "Do not put hands under blades while moving"
6 months in jail may cure his streaking problem for him. He can streak for his cellmate ,Bubba.
And furthermore, he did not have sex with that woman... Miss Lewinski
Some people have dreams, and some people have DREAMS...
That says a lot!
There is also nothing on the stub, no announcements, and no signs saying 'Please do not pee on the head of the person in front of you'
Does that mean it's O.K. to do it?
BTW- Kudos to Matt Chatham...security usually takes forever to chase these idiots down!
Oh Hell... do we really need to be bothered with silly stuff like this?
Fine him, deport him. Forget him.
Yeah, but then again, NEW ENGLAND WON THE SUPER BOWL!!!
"I just came to entertain the good American public."
If anyone ever doubted that the Brits are America's allies... this demonstration of good faith seals it! ;)
Exactly.. Meanwhile, Muslim extremists behead another westerner while those in the West prosecute a man that made millions upon millions of people spew beer through their nose laughing when they saw him streak harmlessly across the field at this years Super Bowl.
Ah, prison rape ... another great American tradition!
His show was consistent with the officially-sanctioned portion of the halftime entertainment. I'd rather see MTV executives sent to jail.
I would have greatly prefered that he had been convicted of public indecency. Anyway, his protest that it doesn't say you can't do it on the ticket is just what you'd expect from such a knucklehead. I wonder if his rectum says... Oh, never mind.
If I were a betting man I would bet that America isnt the only country with Homosexual prison rape.
Certainly not; but here it's part of the folklore. Given the delighted way most people carry on about it, it ought to be part of the sentence.
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