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College Football

Whole lot of beef: Photographer sues Bevo owners following Sugar Bowl scrum

Keith Farner

By Keith Farner

Published:

It was a scrum most people had never seen before, and probably won’t anytime soon. But it also caused permanent injury, according to an Austin American-Statesman photographer who was involved in the incident before the Sugar Bowl matchup between Georgia and Texas on Jan. 1, 2019 and has filed a lawsuit about it.

Nick Wagner was acting in his role as a Statesman photographer and taking pictures of Uga X, Georgia’s mascot, before the game at the New Orleans Superdome, according to a petition filed in Travis Country district court on Friday, Hookem.com reported. The mascots came together with their handlers, but Bevo suddenly crashed through the gate barriers and appeared to go after Uga. The short video clips went viral, and have received millions of views.

Wagner “was on one knee in front of the portable railing which Bevo was behind,” according to the petition. “Bevo XV rammed his longhorns twice into Plaintiff’s back causing permanent injury to Plaintiff’s neck and back.”

John and Betty Baker, Bevo’s actual owners, are the named defendants along with the Silver Spurs Alumni Association, the group assigned to Bevo’s day-to-day care. Sunrise Spur, Bevo’s XV real name, has been UT’s mascot since the start of the 2016 season.

Wagner, who left the newspaper in May, is seeking a jury trial with damages between $200,000 and $1 million.

The petition states that the defendants failed to take proper safety precautions, used faulty equipment, used faulty tack, failed to post warnings of danger and intentionally exposed Bevo to Uga “knowing it would spook him.”

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.

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