Penalty: Spend Super Bowl in Jail
Jan. 18, 2006 — -- It's the ultimate penalty for the ultimate fan.
Cleveland Browns fanatic Nathan Mallett, 24, was ordered by Judge Joan Synenburg to spend Super Bowl weekend in jail after running onto the field during the Dec. 24 Browns-Steelers game because he was upset by Pittsburgh's 41-0 blowout. Mallett was body-slammed by Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who said he grabbed Mallett because he was heading toward the Pittsburgh sideline.
"We didn't know if he had anything on him or if he might do something. I was protecting my teammates," Harrison said. "I didn't want to hurt him. I just wanted to keep him down until the proper authorities came."
But Synenburg decided that being tackled by a 6-foot, 242-pound pro football player wasn't adequate enough payback for his stunt, nor was spending Christmas Eve in the slammer.
In addition to next month's jail time -- three days -- Mallett will not be allowed to watch or hear the Feb. 5 championship game. His sentence also requires that he not go to a Browns game for five years and that he do 150 hours of community service with Browns' charities.
Being banned from Browns games will be the hardest part of his punishment. "That is probably the worst part of it," he said last month after pleading no contest in Cleveland Municipal Court to disorderly conduct while intoxicated and criminal trespassing. "I guess I'll still watch them on TV."
In his defense, Mallett pleaded devotion to the Browns. "There's nothing I can say except I hate losing to the Steelers," he said.
He has some advice for other overzealous fans: "It's not worth it."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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