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Newsday (New York)
It wasn't the type of salute you'd expect from Mr. Met.
In a three-second video posted to Twitter Wednesday, the Mets' baseball-headed mascot is shown lifting one puffy hand in an obscene gesture - apparently, toward a fan filming him as he headed through the tunnel. The clip was credited to Twitter user Anthony DeLucia and was posted shortly before the Mets lost to the Brewers, 7-1, at Citi Field.
"We apologize for the inappropriate action of this employee," the Mets said in a statement, shortly after they were informed of the incident at the end of the game. "We do not condone this type of behavior. We are dealing with this matter internally."
More than one person wears the costume during each season, but the team will no longer allow this employee to don it, The Associated Press reported early Thursday, citing an anonymous source within the organization.
As of around midnight, the tweeted video had garnered more than 1,000 retweets and even more likes, with responses ranging from amused to disturbed. Many hypothesized that the incident could be the end of the mascot, who got his start in the Mets inaugural season, in 1962.
The mascot's Twitter account, which was silent after the incident, describes him as someone who is "all about family, fun, and the Mets!"
It should be noted that while the gesture in question would generally require an odd number of fingers, Mr. Met has only four.
This is just the latest incident to plague the optics-challenged Mets. Earlier this month, cameras caught an obscene toy in the background shot of a postgame interview, something that was later described as a prank. Days later, pitcher Matt Harvey did not report to a game, citing a headache, but he later admitted that he had stayed up all night partying before playing an early round of golf.
Mr. Met's other squabbles have been fairly benign, including an ongoing Twitter feud with Mets ace Noah Syndergaard. The pitcher, who is on the disabled list, was not available for comment after the game.
A previous iteration of Mr. Met resigned after the Mets World Series run in 2015 after 12 years in the baseball head, allegedly because he did not receive a National League Championship ring, according to the Daily News.
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