Marlins Man says he left Progressive Field after fans threatened him
Laurence Leavy, the ubiquitous Miami Marlins superfan known for showing up in his bright orange team apparel at seemingly every major sporting event, said he left Friday's game between the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians early after receiving threats from fans at Progressive Field
"I actually had to leave the stadium because of how I was treated as I walked around," Leavy said in a video posted on his Facebook page.
The 58-year-old lawyer, known affectionately as Marlins Man, said "80 percent of the Cleveland fans were really nice" to him, but noted that as the game progressed, and especially as he traversed the sections in right field and left, fans treated him with hostility and subjected him to threats.
"Everywhere I went, I was threatened," he said. "I can't even use the words on the video and publish it. But it was like, 'Get out of here; I wish I had a gun or a knife; If I didn't leave my knife in the pickup truck, I'd stab you right now; Get the frick out of here - we were two runs away from beating you in '97.' I mean, I can't even say the stuff I was told because it's a public forum."
After leaving Progressive Field, Leavy vowed never to return, and later bemoaned the lack of a police presence at the stadium in a video he posted on Twitter.
"Show me one frickin' police officer anywhere," he said. "I've already left the stadium; I'm outside and I'm gone. There are no police here. I did find one. Outside. The only one I saw."