We have previously discussed how many families, including my own, have abandoned football stadiums to rowdies who have turned games into a contest of obnoxious drinking, swearing, and fighting. Games are now viewed as a license what is becoming the American version of Soccer hooligans. That element was on display this week with the video below of a New York Jets fan punching a woman in a Patriots jersey. According to reports, the man is Kurt Paschke, who was previously found guilty of negligent homicide in a stabbing death outside of a pizzeria in 1992. However, the Patriots fans come off as no better in the video, including the woman, identified as Jaclyn Nugent, 26, who is seen as hitting Paschke before he hits her.
Paschke’s mother, Colleen, insisted that the Patriots fans were harassing them throughout the game and pursued them after the game. She says that the Patriots fans yelled “get them” and were throwing punches. She insists her son was protecting her. The video does show the woman throwing punches before being hit herself.
According to reports, Paschke stabbed a man four times outside of the restaurant, though his lawyers insisted that he only used the knife after being severely beaten. The victim’s family insisted that Paschke got a special deal because his father was a sergeant in the police force.
It is interesting that the police have been seeking Paschke but reportedly not Nugent or the other fans in the melee. As shown by the wonderful photo below, Paschke seems like just the type of guy keeping families away from stadiums. However, the Patriots fans were clearly pursuing at the time of the videotaped attack. When reporters tracked down the woman’s brother, he reportedly responded with the articulate instruction to “Go screw!” From a torts perspective, if he was hit first, Paschke can claim self-defense and defense of others. Unlike his stabbing incident, he is responding in a commensurate fashion though we do not see what happened before the clip below.
Interestingly, the incident has created a debate over the common view that a man can never hit a woman. Many have objected that when a woman hits a man first, he is within his rights — and social standards — to hit back. Do you agree?
JAG, I’m just bein’ my “obsequious” self. You offer a unique perspective that many here value. Even if you are a Swede!
Awwwww Nick… Thank you….. <3
That is such a sweet thing to say, you made me smile
for the first time today….. 🙂
Thank you….
OS…. we are not talking about woman who are trained in self defense…
we are talking the AVERAGE woman…..
and I’m sorry…. But, it is just a physical fact, that men
are bigger and stronger than women……
NOT always….. BUT, certainly MOST of the time….
JAG, This is just one example of why you need to be here more often.
Unlike some folks here who take adamant stands on various topics, I realize I am emotional about this topic and VERY adamant. I just pray those saying hitting a woman is OK, understand their emotions as well.
Who hit who first is, in my view, irrelevant. They were both wrong. There is another issue. Picking up the theme Randy started, with women joining both the military and law enforcement in increasing numbers, those “sweet young things” might very well have had extensive training in unarmed combat.
Last week, a somewhat similar discussion took place while I was interviewing new hires at a county jail. My daughter had the day off and went with me. During a post-interview discussion, the topic drifted to having to subdue a violent inmate in a way so that no one gets hurt. One of the newly hired officers was a rather large man, but he made a semi-sexist comment. So, I “oh so innocently” suggested he grab my daughter’s wrists to see what happened. He looked over at her little 5’3″ frame, but her steady laser-like blue eyes gave him some pause. He mumbled, “I think I’d rather not.” I told him that was a wise choice.
Randy…. a woman being equal in mind, is not the same as being equal in STRENGTH……
and I’m sorry, BUT, a man should NEVER hit a woman…..
If the average woman hits a guy, yes,,,, it is NOT COOL…..
BUT, a guy punching a woman,, can do SERIOUS damage….
if I were to punch you, you would laugh, as it would do nothing to you…..
If you were top punch me, being I am 5′ 1″ and 120 pounds…. you would
lay me out BIG TIME…..
I do think that women should NOT hit men…..
BUT, do not pretend this is an equal rights issue…..
If you want equality, then that means equality in all things. Just ask any cop what they will do it they see a woman hit a man. She WILL be arrested and taken to jail. If the guy hits her after she assaults him, she will go to jail and he will not. THAT is the law folks. The law does NOT say, you can only defend yourself if you are smaller than the person you defend yourself against. If you don’t like the law, then there are means to change that.
As for bad conduct at football games, I live in Houston and have gone to many Oiler and Texans games and I have never seen the bad conduct that has been described in other places. I have no problems there other than traffic congestion. I don’t know if it is Texas kind of character, but I still go to games and enjoy it and many families do that as well.
The only instance that I recall of bad conduct that made news was many years ago when Rice, whose mascot is the owl, went to College Station to play against Texas A&M. The Rice marching band is world renowned for being iconoclastic and satiric in the extreme. They are the reason most folks go to Rice football games since they are a better show that the football team. A&M has what they call the worlds biggest military marching band and they have a song called the Aggie War Hymn that they play. Well the Rice band is called the Marching Owl Band, the MOB. They come out onto the field in a mob. This time they came onto the field in German WWI spiked helmets and then played the Aggie War Hymn while goosestepping up and down the field. The Aggies did NOT see the humor in that and a mob assaulted the band bus as they were leaving. The state police had to be called out to rescue the MOB and put down the ensuing riot. I have loved the MOB ever since. They sure have guts, if not much sense.
I don’t see what the problem is. She hits him a bunch of times AS HE IS BACKING away from the original situation. Eventually he fights back.
Dredd, Thanks.
randyjet, I have my feminist bonafides, having moved twice to support my wife’s career. So, please don’t tell me what I have to do to fit into your box. You do as you please, I’m a libertarian. I’m just glad my daughter didn’t marry you, or a son of yours. And, I think I’m standing in a long line on that one.
Looks like a simple case of self defense. If the b can’t keep her hands to herself, she has to pay the consequences.
Just another example of how our modern day gladiatorial games have helped to remake us as citizens of the “New Rome”. The intertwining of football, patriotism and corporate greed has put a spell on many citizens to the point where their “heroes” success becomes linked to their own feelings of adequacy. The clear origin of the word “fan” is “Fanatic” and was tied to baseball watchers by sportswriters in the 19th Century.
Even our family celebrations like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years have become linked to football. There is also an element of it that tends to separate men from women, including spouses, but some women have actually acclimated to it and have become fans. I note this separation because almost all football advertising is linked to products seen as male bonding activities, such as beer commercials. We have become a coarser, more callous society because of this.
I write this as a Jets fan, yet for the decades of my marriage and fatherhood my family trumped football and so I would see only perhaps 3 games a year when family events weren’t scheduled. To be sure there is discomfort associated with a team loss, but it is mild and passes within minutes. A measure of someone might be said to be how much of their identity and self-esteem is tied to their game of choice. The brutal conditions at the stadiums evince this and are exacerbated by drinking. That a municipal judge sits at Philadelphia Home Games to adjudicate disturbances illustrates my points.
What draws people to a game where you spend 3+ hours watching the ball move for 3 to 4 minutes? I don’t get it.
Well said Nick S.
I disagree that a man should never hit a woman. The view that a woman should never be hit under any circumstances also comes along with the idea that women should NOT have jobs outside the home. If you support this view of the sacrosanct position of women, then you also have to support the other parts of this system which denies women participation in the workforce and civic society. It is part and parcel of the same world view which gave rise to this. It would also deny women the right to serve in the US military too.
This whole scene is just a disgusting example of what happens when too much alcohol is consumed. Especially with a guy who has a dubious past at best. While the lady did hit him, he should have walked away.
We’ve discussed the depravity @ NFL games here previously. Booze is just so much part of the culture. I see the same depravity @ UW football games. I don’t know the answer but I do know the answer is not simple.
This is an anecdote that better not be challenged! My grandmother came to this country from Naples and married young[17]. Her husband was a sociopath who beat her unmercifully. She had 3 children[daughters]. When he started on the girls she went to her brother and the Black Hand. This monster was given 1 day to get out of the state of Ct. Rumor had it he moved to Chicago. My grandmother never planned to marry again. But, my grandfather courted this mother of 3 like only a dago can! He had come to the US from Bari as a teenager. He showed genuine love for the 3 girls. My grandmother got an annulment[her brother had some money!] and married Steve Spinelli.
In the Spinelli family, my father and 2 brothers were taught, “Men to not hit women. No exceptions.” My grandmother, supported by my grandfather, were determined to not let this violence continue, as it too often does. Myself and my brother were taught the same lesson. If my father saw my sisters hitting and taunting us boys[they did a few times] he took care of it. If corporal punishment was warranted, his tough Irish wife was the enforcer.
It is up to every father to teach their son this lesson. That’s the only way. I believe the problem has improved over the generations, but there’s a long way to go, as evidenced by this video.
I am all in favor of women’ liberation in most things. That means that if a woman hits first, she gets the same treatment as a man who does that. I was going out with a woman and she asked me if I would ever hit a woman. I replied that I would if she hit me first. Her reply was THAT’S NOT FAIR! You are so much bigger than I am. My reply was that is the same reason, I will not hit Muhammed Ali too.
It seems……… this guy would be more comfortable watching his football games on a 20” TV in his jail CELL!!!!!
Agree Jonathan. We never attend football games and haven’t in over twenty years. I saw this coming years ago and would prefer to watch the games from the comfort and safety of my living room!