Video Shows Fan Hitting Browns Owner With Bottle

An ugly finish at FirstEnergy Stadium Sunday could have been even uglier.

As Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam walked toward the tunnel, a bottle thrown from the stands hit him.

Fortunately, he was uninjured as the bottle missed his head or other vulnerable parts.

Multiple videos were captured of the incident by folks tracking Haslam’s reaction to the final score.

The #Browns have identified and plan to ban a fan who threw a bottle that struck owner Jimmy Haslam late in Sunday’s loss to the #Jets, per sources.

Here’s my video of what could’ve been a dangerous situation. The team is cooperating with authorities. https://t.co/a1mvjAkD9e pic.twitter.com/TwuPxr3655

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 20, 2022

But Haslam spotted the thrower and with some security video assistance, quickly pointed him out to security on site.

Cleveland Police apprehended the offender and charged him with several misdemeanors.

Tom Pellisero of the NFL Network was among those capturing the moments on video.

Cleveland police arrested man for allegedly throwing bottle at #Browns owner Jimmy Haslam on Sunday. Charged with assault, failure to comply, disorderly conduct. Story being updated.

— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) September 20, 2022

He reported the man involved appeared to be intoxicated when security confronted him.

Police charged him with assault, disorderly conduct, and failure to comply with authorities.

Statement From Browns 

There were few if any, Cleveland Browns fans in the stadium as Sunday’s game wound down.

Nobody thought the Browns would possibly lose the game after building a 13-point lead with under 2 minutes to go.

It was a total team collapse, rivaled only by the 2001 Browns loss to Chicago when they let the Bears score twice in the final 30 seconds.

But of course, that doesn’t excuse assaulting the team owner or anybody else.

#Browns statement on a fan hitting owner Jimmy Haslam with a bottle, which was captured on video by @TomPelissero pic.twitter.com/KhZcn929SM

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) September 20, 2022

Myles Garrett was upset about postgame boos from the crowd.

It is uncertain if he or any of the players knew about the incident involving Haslam when he spoke to reporters.

Through a spokesman, the team said the following:

“Fan, player, and staff safety is the top priority in our building, and behavior that puts others in danger will not be tolerated. Luckily no one was harmed in this incident and as a standard practice, we’ve cooperated with law enforcement authorities and security video footage of the object being thrown is in the appropriate hands. We will have no further comment on this matter.”

It was later announced the team will ban the fan from returning to FirstEnergy Stadium indefinitely.

Fortunately, the fan’s actions did not ignite a wider bottle-throwing response from others in the stands.

Also in 2001, Cleveland’s famous Bottlegate incident involved officials getting pummeled by bottles after a crucial call reversal.