An older man at the Consol Energy Center may not be the ideal neighbor for your kids to visit on Halloween. The man stole a puck being tossed to the boy named Trey during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Thursday night game against the Buffalo Sabres. It started as an act of kindness when the Sabres’ new head coach (and former Penguins head coach) Dan Bylsma noticed a small boy standing in the aisle just beyond the glass and tried to toss a hockey puck to him as a souvenir. That is when this man swooped in and snatched the puck.

I can understand that people might not initially realize that a puck or a ball is being thrown to a kid at a game (a woman was also trying to grab the puck). However, this kid was standing there alone and the pitch was clearly directed to him. Even if that escaped the man, he clearly must have realized after snatching the puck but did not give it to the boy.

Here is the despicable moment:

Fans were justifiably irate and the Penguins made it right by getting Trey a jersey, stick and a couple pucks. He even got a huge hug from the Penguins mascot. The only thing bigger than the jersey for the boy was his smile.

The man, who is still unidentified, will remain mired in public scorn. His anonymity may not last as long as his infamy however if prior such controversies are any measure.

This man is not alone in his utter lack of decency with regard to children at a sporting event. This woman still holds the title for worst person ever filmed at a professional sporting event:

The woman was later reportedly identified as Grennele Brashskowitz, a child psychologist in private practice with four other clinicians. It is not clear if the identification is itself a hoax given the many sites that traffic in false stories. While reported as her identity, the article seems transparently false, including the name. I was equally shocked by the high-five from one of her friends after stealing the ball from the girl. She reported;y headed back to her native Quebec, according to this dubious site. There is no confirmation of the identity or a suspiciously self-incriminating interview allegedly given to a small website (assuming that this “interview” is fake, it would have raised some interesting defamation claims — of course to sue she would have had to identify herself).

The man in Pittsburgh may face the same outing by irate folks on social media. I hope the puck was worth it.

To finish on a more promising note, one of our readers share the better half of humanity at a sporting event here.