Mr. Met’s middle finger prompts apology

While the Mets sleep-walked through a 7-1 loss to Milwaukee, the team’s mascot needed just three seconds to send the internet into a frenzy. In a Twitter video posted by @tonyt3535, we see Mr. Met head down a stadium runway before turning to flip off a fan. For a mascot with four fingers, the middle finger is impressively pronounced.

As could have been expected, Mr. Met’s outburst captured the imagination of baseball fans everywhere. The original video received Twitter Moment honors, while being featured on platforms such as SportsCenter and TMZ. This appears to be Mr. Met’s first news story requiring a [NSFW] tag.

Rather than waiting for the story to go away, the Mets issued a press release stating:

“We apologize for the inappropriate action of this employee. We do not condone this type of behavior. We are dealing with this matter internally.”

In “dealing with the matter,” the team banned the employee in question from reprising his role as Mr. Met. The image of Mr. Met flipping off a fan will live on, however, serving as one of the team’s more surreal moments in recent memory. The gesture sharply contrasts Mr. Met’s brand, summarized succinctly in a recent New York Times Magazine column.

“Mr. Met — with his wide, perpetual grin; his aw-shucks demeanor; and a noggin that would never fit on the 7 train — hardly seems like a native New Yorker...No matter who occupies that massive head of his, Mets fans see in his face that same friendly nothingness, onto which we can project our hopes and memories.”

The mascot’s official Twitter account—@MrMet—has yet to post since the incident occurred.