Pittsburgh Pirates suspend employee who whipped fan with belt in ballpark fight

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The Pittsburgh Pirates suspended a game day employee for “entirely unacceptable” behavior during a postgame fight with a fan, the team announced Tuesday.

The altercation, which was captured on video, occurred “as the final few fans were exiting the ballpark” after Sunday’s 4-0 loss to the San Diego Padres at PNC Park. A bystander’s video captured “a verbal altercation between two male guests and a female food and beverage employee. At that time, the ballpark game day employee seen in the video attempted to intervene on her behalf,” the team said in a statement.

“We are aware of the unfortunate incident that occurred following the conclusion of yesterday’s game between a PNC Park game day employee and a guest,” Brian Warecki, the Pirates’ senior vice president of communications, said in a statement. “The employee’s behavior was entirely unacceptable, and he was immediately suspended. This incident is currently under further investigation.”

The fight escalated from a face-to-face yelling match to a physical confrontation, with the employee landing several punches. The fan spat on the employee, who took off his belt and hit the fan with it. Neither the fan nor the employee has been identified and Pittsburgh police told KDKA no charges had been filed as of Tuesday.

The viral clash was the second fan-related incident at PNC Park to capture national attention in recent days. On April 30, 20-year-old Kavan Markwood was hospitalized in critical condition after accidentally falling over the 21-foot wall onto the right-field warning track.

Markwood, 20, “still has a long way to go – he’s dealing with a broken neck, clavicle, and back so there are plenty of obstacles ahead,” Jennifer Phillips, a former teacher of Markwood’s, wrote on a GoFundMe drive she has organized to help play for his medical bills. “But he’s showing real strength, and we’re staying hopeful for a smooth recovery. This will also require plenty of rest and following instructions from the great doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital.”

The GoFundMe account had raised more than $46,000 as of Wednesday morning.