A bizarre and ugly delay interrupted Yankees-Mets on Friday night when a fan sprinted onto the field at Yankee Stadium carrying a Palestinian flag at exactly 9:11 p.m., during the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11.
The man came from the left-field seats and headed toward center field before security finally caught him on the outfield grass. He was wearing a “No Kings” jersey, and once officers got him beyond the outfield wall, fans tossed beer cans and drinks in his direction. The crowd booed, then started chanting “USA.”
The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty described the scene as it happened: “Security tackles a fan who ran onto the field at Yankee Stadium at 9:11 p.m. with a Palestinian flag.” He also wrote, “Fans threw beer cans at him once security got him beyond the outfield wall.”
The stoppage came in the top of the seventh with the Mets loaded with bases, Francisco Lindor batting with two outs and a 3-2 count, and the Yankees leading 5-2. Brent Headrick threw a few warm-up pitches while play was halted. When the game resumed, Lindor lined out to end the inning.
TMZ later identified the man as 38-year-old Kelly Marcucci. Police charged him with trespass and a local ordinance violation. The Yankees declined to comment.
The timing made the whole thing impossible to miss. The game was being played on the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Derek Jeter and other members of the 2001 Yankees were in the ballpark, and a husband and wife who each lost a father on Sept. 11 threw out the first pitches. Flags around the frieze were at half-mast, and the Yankees had spent the afternoon in Monument Park.
This wasn’t a routine security lapse. It was a political stunt dropped into the middle of a memorial night, and it forced a brief but jarring pause before the Subway Series moved on. The man was taken away in cuffs, and the “USA” chants kept following him as he disappeared from center field.
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