Marlins Man may have reason to be hesitant welcoming Derek Jeter to the organization after a physical encounter with a Yankees fan over the weekend.
Laurence Leavy, whom fans know better as Marlins Man for his garb at just about every big game in sports, was the one playing mediator Sunday night, he recalled, when a fight erupted in the stands at Yankee Stadium during the Yankees’ 9-2 series-winning victory over the Red Sox.
Leavy, notorious for taking selfies with beautiful women at Marlins games, described how he was posing for a photo, which he asked a Red Sox fan to take of him and his friend, when the Yankees fan picked a fight with the group. After the Yankees fan cursed at them, a female fan asked him to rein in his language, and he fired back by cursing at her and throwing a punch at Leavy’s friend as they were making a run for it, according to Leavy’s account of the scene.
“We started walking up the aisle to leave and the guy started saying, ‘F–k you, Marlins’ again and he reached over and he punched first my friend in the plaid,” Leavy said on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” on Monday morning. “My friend in the plaid then jumped on him and this girl was screaming also. I went and said, ‘Oh, this is ridiculous.’
“I got between them and said, ‘Guys, calm down. Look at me. Calm down. We just want to go home. You don’t want to be arrested.'”
Marlins Man’s story has some visual evidence, as a Sports Illustrated reporter took video of the conflict, which he posted to Twitter during the game. The footage shows security guards trying to break up the scuffle between Leavy’s friend in a black-and-white plaid shirt and the fan in a Yankees jersey, while Leavy himself starts to escort his friend up the stairs.
Shortly before the guards showed up, Leavy said he was holding the Yankees fan’s hands while his friend threw punches at his face. The Yankees fan attempted to use that moment to spin the incident in his favor, Leavy believes.
“The guy was telling everybody that we punched him first, so I had to go find the Boston guy who said, ‘No, he started it by saying, ‘F–k you, Marlins’ and ‘F–k you, Red Sox,’ and he swung first,'” Leavy said. “Then I had to find the lady who said she saw the same thing.”
Sunday night’s fight wasn’t the first controversy Marlins Man has been involved in this season and had to defend himself for.
In May, Leavy found himself in hot water with the Marlins after one of his female companions shook her breasts for the cameras, later saying she did not realize she was on TV. Leavy received a message from the Marlins, he told The Post at the time, and promised to keep his group’s behavior PG-rated moving forward.