Kelly Stafford is not impressed that Rob Gronkowski knows the Yankees fan who got ejected from the World Series after an incident with Dodgers player Mookie Betts.
“The fact that people are claiming to know this guy/making excuses for him and laughing about what happened is the problem with our society,” Stafford, 35, wrote in a since-deleted Instagram Story on Wednesday, October 30. “This isn’t Little League which is most likely the last time this fan touched a baseball. … It’s the World Series.”
Kelly, who is married to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, shared her message alongside a clip of Gronkowski, 35, speaking about the fan, whose name is Austin Capobianco, who disrupted the Game by stealing a ball out of Betts’ glove during Game 4 of the World Series. (The Los Angeles Dodgers are facing off against the New York Yankees in the championship, and the Dodgers are one Game away from winning the whole thing.)
“Yankees [fans] should show some respect for the Game and for MLB players and ban them for life,” she added.
Gronkowski appeared on the Wednesday episode of FanDuel TV’s Up and Adams show to chat about sports. The retired New England Patriot dropped a bombshell when he revealed he and the controversial fan go way back.
“This is the first time I’m actually seeing this live and here’s a little fun fact right here, that guy grabbing Mookie Betts’ glove was my friend in college,” Gronkowski said. “He was on the ice hockey team, the club Arizona Wildcats ice hockey team and let me tell you the whole hockey team, they were absolute maniacs.”
Gronkowski confessed that he remembered the fan and the rest of the hockey team being “wild.” The retired NFL player shared that he was not surprised by the man’s actions at the game.
“Him doing that represents him very well and he is all in for his teams. He is all in for the Yankees,” he continued. “I remember him talking about the Yankees all the time about how he loves them so much and that describes him perfectly just doing whatever it takes to help his team out.”
Gronkowski added that he wanted to send his “congratulations” to his old pal “for shining” in his now-viral moment.
Capobianco attended the game at Yankees Stadium alongside friend John Peter. The duo made headlines when Capobianco grabbed Betts after he caught a ball hit by Yankees player Gleyber Torres in the outfield. Capobianco snatched Betts by the wrist in an attempt to pry the ball out of his glove, while Peters grabbed Betts’ non-glove hand to keep the Dodger player from freeing himself.
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This On-Sale Leave-In Conditioner is “Every Bit as Effective” as More Expensive Ones, Per Users — Now Just $15! View DealUmpires ultimately called the play as interference and the men were kicked out of the Game. The Yankees ended up winning the Game, 11-4.
“Last night two fans were ejected from Yankee Stadium for egregious and unacceptable physical contact with Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts,” the Yankees said in a statement provided to the New York Post on Wednesday. “The safety and security of players, fans and Stadium staff is the foundational element of every event held at Yankee Stadium, and it cannot be compromised.”
It was later revealed that Capobianco and Peter were banned from Yankee Stadium for Game 5.
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