Fan facing year in prison for shining laser in Tom Brady's eye during crunch AFC Championship game
A Kansas City Chiefs fan charged with disturbing the peace is facing 12 months in jail and is liable for a $1,000 fine after being found to have attempted to distract New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady.
64-year-old Dwyan Morgan was cited for his attempts to interfere with the AFC Championship game between Brady's Patriots and the Chiefs in January in which a green dot was visible several times on Brady's upper body and head in the fourth quarter of the crunch fixture at Arrowhead.
"Dwyan Morgan, of Lee’s Summit, was cited with disturbing the peace, a municipal violation," reported a local ABC News affiliate, which has led to a single charge of disrupting the peace.
The laser was spotted on at least three separate occasions in the game's fourth quarter, including during Brady's handoff for a Sony Michel run just before a play in which Brady was intercepted by Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen.
Our photographer, Turner Twyman, caught someone pointing what appears to be a laser pointer in Tom Brady's face last night. Play between the "muff" that wasn't and Sorensen int. @NFL, @Patriots and @Chiefs all told me they weren't aware of the incident. pic.twitter.com/ejWBQ6i64C
— William Joy (@WilliamKMBC) January 21, 2019
The laser, which was not visible during the televised broadcast of the game, did not affect the result of the game per the NFL while prosecutors maintain that Brady was not aware of it.
In extreme cases, handheld laser pointers can cause serious retinal damage if shone directly into someone's eye. Lasers have become a common fixture in European soccer games with fans having targeted Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the past.
Ophthalmologist and retina specialist Dr. Robert Josephburg has previously warned of the potential dangers that laser pointers can have if shone into a person's eye.
"I have been stunned at the power of these things," Dr. Josephburg said to Yahoo! Sports.
Also on rt.com ‘My pain is not your entertainment’: US gymnast addresses fans who shared video of horrible injury"We are talking about serious damage even if someone is only exposed to it for a few seconds. We are seeing young kids getting access to these pointers, and sports is an area to worry about, especially if fans are trying to get an advantage for their team.
"People have to realize this is not fun and games; it is serious stuff. You are endangering someone's vision. There can be huge repercussions and a real risk of causing at least temporary, and possibly permanent damage to a person's vision.
"You have to send a message that this is dangerous and to make people understand the seriousness of it."
Morgan's case is set to appear in court this summer. His use of the laser pointer apparently didn't have any obvious impact on Brady's performance, as his Patriots defeated the Chiefs 37-31 in overtime to advance to the Super Bowl where they defeated the LA Rams.
