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Karl-Anthony Towns' father reportedly mulling lawsuit against Timberwolves following mascot collision
After exhausting the far reaches of the internet and our collective memory, we can safely relay that we’ve never had the opportunity to recall the father of an NBA team’s best player suing the team itself over an incident with the franchise’s mascot. It appears that we could have, fingers crossed, a situation like this lining up in Minnesota right now.
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Karl Towns Sr. , father of Minnesota Timberwolves second-year star Karl-Anthony Towns Jr., is said to be considering such a suit. From Michael McCann at Sports Illustrated:
The Crossover has learned that Karl Towns Sr.—the 54-year-old father of Timberwolves star center Karl–Anthony Towns Jr.—has been assessing the potential legal ramifications of a significant leg injury he suffered during the Timberwolves home game against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 26.
Towns Sr., who is a retired high school basketball coach, was injured during a timeout with 5:53 to go in the second quarter. The Timberwolves’ prophetically named mascot, Crunch, appeared to lose balance towards the end of a high-speed sledding stunt and hit an empty front row seat next to the aisle. That seat, in turn, crashed into the right knee of Towns Sr., who was sitting next to the empty seat. The elder Towns is now exploring potential legal options, including the possibility of suing his son’s team for negligence.
You can watch a clip of Crunch’s stunt from that night, though it is tough to spy any sort of collision with Towns, here:
The stunt is not unlike the sled stunt that several NBA mascots pull off each night, and even with Towns’ relative neophytism as an NBA Dad it would be hard to believe Jan. 26 would act as the first time he’d seen the performance at a Minnesota Timberwolves game, let alone any other NBA contest. The giant mats thrown down the stairwells of the team’s arena should have probably been a tip-off to, y’know, keep your legs away from the mascot wolf on a sled.
Fearing uneasiness from his son, should Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. look into the stands and spy an empty seat where his father’s perch once sat, the elder Towns decided to stay at the contest, a 109-103 Indiana win. Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. was hardly set off in any way during the defeat, contributing his typically-stellar of late numbers in the loss, including 33 points, 10 rebounds and two steals.
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McCann went on to note that Karl Towns Sr., who underwent an MRI following the contest (with results unreleased), was seen with his son at New Orleans’ All-Star weekend a few weeks after the collision limping around on a pair of crutches.
Leaving the arena mid-game following any mixup with the Minnesota mascot would not have done much, pain or repair-wise, had Crunch either helped sprain Karl Towns Sr.’s knee, or force into something (a ligament and/or cartilage tear) something more severe. Towns Sr. did not heap any more complications on himself by sticking at the game instead of receiving immediate medical attention.
Either way, one would hope Karl Towns Sr. would see fit to end any sort of (reported!) lawsuit mulling rather quickly.
The Timberwolves, at three games out of the Western playoff bracket with 21 to play, have enjoyed a distinct turnaround behind the play of their all-world 22-year old center over the last pair of months, turning in a 14-10 mark since the first week of January.
The team hardly needs the distraction of a team family member possibly angling for considerations that go beyond the Timberwolves taking care of any medical bills and potential rehabilitation and/or transportation issues that could result.
Michael McCann, a longtime Sports Illustrated legal expert, opines that an out of court settlement is the most likely outlook for any potential case.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
