Intentional Roughness: Fan Faces Jail Term in Attack

OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 13, 2007 — -- As college football rivalries go, few can match the intensity of the ill will between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas. But even the most rabid fans in this football-obsessed city are shocked by the viciousness of a barroom fight between two men with opposing loyalties.

It all began on June 17, when Brian Thomas, 32, a Texas fan, entered Henry Hudson's Pub in Oklahoma City wearing a Texas burnt orange shirt. He immediately inflamed fellow bar patron Allen Beckett, 53, a government auditor and church deacon.

"My client just came in wearing a basic University of Texas T-shirt and was minding his own business," said Carl Hughes, Thomas' attorney. "(Beckett) had made some rude comments to my client and his date, so they then got up and sat across the bar."

The incident ended with Thomas heading for the hospital to receive more than 60 stitches after being nearly castrated, allegedly by the churchgoing Beckett.

The bartender noticed that Beckett, a regular in the establishment, appeared to be upset that day, Hughes said in an interview with ABC News. The bartender saw that Beckett had been taunting Thomas throughout the night and had been constantly signaling hand gestures toward Thomas and his date, according to Hughes.

"(Beckett) kept making hand gestures that were in the 'bring it on' fashion in the direction of my client," Hughes said. Thomas and his date decided they had had enough and got up to leave.

Beckett's attorney, Billy Bock, maintains that the razzing was all in good fun and his client was playfully teasing Thomas. Bock said his client alleges that Thomas had threatened him while in the bar.

"As (Thomas) and his date were leaving, he passed Allen and gave him a chest bump and said that he was going to kick his you-know-what a few times. My client was then placed in a headlock and acted in a manner that would ensure his security against a person who is younger and stronger than him," said Bock.

According to the police report, both men then fell to the ground and Thomas delivered blows to his assailant, who had a firm grip on his testicles.