You're six beers in. Adrenaline courses through you as the field's outermost wall approaches. With a swift jump, you're over the barricade and find yourself running full speed into the middle of an ongoing sporting event. You evade the first yellow jacket-clad security guard. With change-of-direction speed you never knew existed, you're suddenly running back the way you came as security and police officers give chase. Then, 250 pounds of man barrels into you like Lawrence Taylor coming off the edge.
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You've just made the impulse decision to trespass and invade a professional sporting event. What happens to you next?
What Happens to Streakers?
If you're persistent and won't go down without a fight, you could be like this 17-year-old who got tased. Or, one of the professional athletes could take matters into their own hands, like the time Steelers linebacker James Harrison body-slammed a Browns fan.
Across the board, pitch invaders can expect a night in jail and a lifetime ban from whatever venue you've just left wearing handcuffs. Fans who go quietly could receive less punishment when it comes to potential jail time, though.
In some states, going full nudity for your on-field stunt (while taking immense courage) could land you with an indecent exposure conviction, which requires you to be register as a sex offender.
Still thinking about dropping those drawers?
What's the Fine for Running On a Field?
The truth of the matter is that it depends what state you've just decided to break the law in, and what your intentions are. For example, New York City passed the "Calvin Klein Law" back in 2003 after the famous fashion designer casually walked on the court mid-game to chat with Latrell Sprewell. According to the New York Post, the law allows for up to a $25,000 fine and year in jail.
Consider that the baseline metric when it comes to "harsh" penalties.
Complex detailed Dylan Cressy's story after the baseball fan ran onto the Great American Ballpark field to celebrate Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta's no-hitter versus the Cincinnati Reds. Cressy spent the night in jail, but Ohio law only lists a $1,000 fine for the event.
Yahoo! Finance reported that after former Australian footballer Ben Jenkins ran naked onto Optus Stadium back in 2018, he could've received a $12,000 fine and 12 months in jail.
Most of the time, invading the field of play gets you nothing but a funny story and a lot legal hurdles to jump through. Some people, however, made full-on careers out of going streaking in public places.
Famous Field Invaders in Sports History
Michael Angelow
In 1975, Angelow invaded the Ashes Test cricket match between England and Australia. The then-24-year-old is credited as the first in a long line of British streakers.
The famed trespasser received a small fine, but came away with one of the most iconic photographs of all time.
Morganna, The Kissing Bandit
No athlete was safe from getting smooched by Morganna Roberts. Famous players from Nolan Ryan to Pete Rose to Kareem Abdul-Jabaar all received a kiss from the Louisville, Kentucky native during her three-decade run of invading games.
Morganna said she was charged with trespassing 19 times despite her number of field invasions being far more than that.
Mark Roberts
No one, and I mean no one, measures up to Mark Roberts, "Professional Streaker."
The famed British man has invaded over 500 different sporting events around the world since the early 1990s. You might remember this naked man from the NFL's Super Bowl XXXVIII, Wimbledon 2000, the Tour de France, 2003 French Open, 2006 World Cup, the 2008 World Snooker Championship, and the freakin' Beijing Olympics among hundreds of others.
"At the end of the day, humor is what makes the world go round," Roberts told HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
Kinsey Wolanski
The American model set the 2019 Champions League Final between Liverpool-Tottenham and social media on fire when she ran onto the field in a one-piece bathing suit reading "Vitaly Uncensensored," a porn site ran by her boyfriend at the time. (Don't worry. You'll meet him in a second.)
Wolanski gained millions of followers on social media and parlayed that exposure into business opportunities and financial gains she believes will set her up to retire by the time she's 30.
Vitaly Zdorovetskiy
The Russian prankster made a name for himself invading massive sporting events, including the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2016 NBA Finals, when he wrote "Trump Sucks" on his body, and even MLB's 2017 World Series.
He's been arrested and jailed numerous times for his pranks, including spending five days in jail after climbing the Pyramids of Giza in 2020. Today, he runs the YouTube channel VitalyzdTV and his paywall website that features NSFW content.
His net worth is estimated to be around $7 million.
