By Ronnie Polidoro
Rock Center
Nearly nine months after being viciously beaten while leaving a Los Angeles Dodger home opener, San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow has only recovered enough to barely speak and he is still unable to walk.
NBC News Chief Medical Editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman visited Stow at a rehabilitation center in San Jose, Calif. The 42-year-old paramedic and father of two is relearning basic things like walking, brushing his teeth, swallowing, and even how to speak. His recovery has been a slow process but he was able to greet Snyderman as part of an exclusive look at his life since the attack.
Two of the men who attended the fateful baseball game in Los Angeles with Stow, Corey Maciel and Jeff Bradford also spoke to Rock Center in an exclusive interview discussing one of the worst episodes of fan violence in American sports history.
It was opening day in March at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers were playing the defending World Series champion team, the San Francisco Giants. San Francisco fans Maciel, Bradford, and Stow, along with their friend Matt Lee, had taken a road trip to Los Angeles to root for their team.
Proudly wearing their orange and black uniforms, they stuck out in the blue sea of Dodger fans, and soon the heckling began.
“Nobody's off limits for heckling at a game, especially when it's friendly banter,” Maciel told Dr. Nancy Snyderman.
But the friendly banter soon escalated into name-calling, threats and cursing.
“At no point did we think about leaving, because as uncomfortable as we might have been at times, we had paid our money. We're here to see a baseball game,” Maciel said.
The game ended with the Dodgers winning 2-1.
As fans filtered out of the stadium, the four visitors stayed by their seats to avoid the massive crowds. When they finally left, the taunting continued into the parking lot.
“It turned from uncomfortable in the stadium to almost a hostile feeling in the parking lot,” Maciel said.
The group was staying at a nearby hotel and trying to beat the taxi stand line. Bradford says they went the long way through a dimly lit parking lot to look for a cab farther from the stadium.
“Bryan and I were side by side and talking amongst ourselves,” Maciel said. “We're walking past this car. And I noticed there's a group of people. And, next thing, one of them comes from behind the car yelling, and pushes Bryan into me.”
Maciel says his friends dismissed the trouble and kept walking, picking up the pace. The parking lot exit came into focus. Then he says he heard footsteps coming from behind them and then a loud scream.
“I turned around, and at that point, I see Jeff get punched in the face and get knocked to his back. And I just remember feeling stunned, completely stunned, almost paralyzed with the feeling of what is going on right now,” he said.
Trying to assess the situation, Maciel says he looked for his other friends.
“I looked over to see where Matt and Bryan were. And I didn't see Matt, but I saw Bryan. And somebody had his attention. And he was looking away from me.”
That’s when Maciel says Bryan was punched from behind and knocked to the ground allegedly by the same man who punched Jeff. His attacker was kicking him in the side of the head, over and over.
Maciel and Bradford say they sprinted to Stow and jumped on him to cover and protect him, begging the attacker to stop.
“Right after we had covered Bryan up, somebody from the crowd grabbed him and said, ‘That's enough. Get out of here.’ And the next thing I know, I look up and I see him running away,” Maciel said.
Maciel says he called out Stow’s name repeatedly, but his badly beaten friend gave no response. “I felt so helpless,” he said.
Stow laid there with severe injuries to his skull and brain, struggling to hold on.
In July, two suspects were arrested, Louie Alex Sanchez, 29, and Marvin Eugene Norwood, 30. Sanchez and Norwood both pled not guilty to charges of felony assault, battery, and mayhem in August. Their preliminary hearing has been set for January 17.
After seven months in the intensive care unit, much of what he spent in a medically induced coma, Stow was transferred from San Francisco General Hospital to the rehabilitation center in San Jose, Calif. Doctors say Bryan will be permanently “disabled” and expect that he will never be a paramedic again.
Despite the severity of the attack Bradford says he’s hopeful baseball’s reputation is not damaged irreparably.
“It's supposed to be a team sport. You know? Good rivalry. This is one bad instance among millions and millions of sports fans that go every year and have the time of their lives.”
Editor’s Note: Dr. Nancy Snyderman’s full report on Bryan Stow and his recovery airs tonight, Dec.19 at 10p/9c on NBC’s Rock Center.
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Our society is garbage and getting worse.
I agree, and, unfortunately the leaders are the ones that demand that - others - (but never themselves) take responsibility for their actions. Nothing they ever do is their fault.
garbage in, garbage out, genetically modified food is poison, round up is poison, synthetic bovine growth hormone is poison, science is FAILING us, government is FAILING us
nobody deserves to get beaten like that and hopefully they finally got the right guys and they go to prison for the rest of their lives... now there's still something missing from this story Im not saying that they were smack talking but IF they were it was not a smart thing to do specially when youre wearing giant colors in dodger stadium that by the way the giants WON that game, also all of them should have stuck together for protection unless they got scared and left bryan all alone to fend for himself, but I guess none of this matters anymore and the most important thing now is Bryan's full recovery so he tell the real story .
Actually, the people who beat him deserve to get beaten like that!
Brian's mom brought up a good point in the video - Brian's medical care is already in the millions of dollars. Who is going to pay for it? I agree that the attackers should be paying for it but I doubt they have that much money. Sue the Dodgers to pay for it? Well, maybe but some people don't think that would be fair either. This is where we need national health care. Not many victims can afford to pay for medical care for something like this. Also, what if the culprits had not been caught? That happens all the time. Who is going to pay for the medical care then? Is it fair for the victime to pay for it? I don't think so. After all, I'll bet getting beaten like that didn't feel good (i.e. - severe pain) but then to have to pay for it himself, that is like getting kicked in the nuts after getting out of the hospital. Actually, it may be worse. If there were national health care, the government would have a big incentive to not allow this kind of violence to happen in the first place. Seems like win-win all around with national health care covering things like this - safer fans at games and no financial worries for possible victims. And this just doesn't apply to sports games, it applies to just about everything. The gov would have good incentive to solve these kind of crimes - it could get reimbursed by culprits for victims' medical bills if they catch them. Save millions and millions of dollars and get bad folks behind bars doing prison labor.
The two idiots probably are on welfare, and stole the tickets to get into the game in the first place. To stupid to even pay attention, much less the medical bills unfortunately.
good point, as it is imprisoning animals like this is a for-profit industry, draw your own conclusions
The atmosphere at sporting events is insane. At a Yankees game this past summer and saw a fight break out in the parking lot after the game - both retards had Yankees shirts on. At a UCONN game last year, a Syracuse fan showed up in Orange and was heckled/harassed the entire game. Finally with about 5 minutes left in the game, the guy stood up and turned around to say something and was showered with beer. At a hockey game two weeks ago, some moron in our section could not stop dropping the "f" bomb every two minutes. Class act.
And then some people wonder why I don't feel completely at ease when I bring my kids to these venues.
Another reason why there should be no professional sports in LA. Too many idiot thugs.
This is why we should all carry a gun!
well, thats the worst idea I've heard in a while...
No that is the BEST idea I've heard in awhile.
Yes. Imagine of one of his friends had a concealed carry permit. He could have drawn, and held, the men at bay until police arrived.
Or, even better, he could have shot the one guy right away after warning him to stop beating his friend.
Even better still: he caps both men and they bleed out on the pavement while he takes his sweet time calling 911.
Ah well. Hindsight is 2020.
One one hand we have a man whose job it is to help the injured and sick. On the other we have 2 pieces of human filth who serve no good purpose on earth. There should be capitol punishment for useless violents scum like these two! REMOVE THEM FROM LIFE LIKE THEY ATTEMPTED ON THIS INNOCENT MAN!
Both of them should get the needle! But no The Liberal Stupidness of the CA judges and Jury wont dont it.
This is another good reason to stick w/ NASCAR only!
All over a GAME. It's one thing to be passionate about something, but to take it such a level is just absurd. I hope these guys rot.
Since there are so many people in this country are against socialism and so many sports venues are built and/or maintained with public money (socialism), maybe this would be a good time to do away with socialsm and just disband all sports, both pro and college. And instead of watching sports all day Sunday, you can spend all day in church.
Fortunately, I read.
Yo EGlide - Public money was being spent on sports stadia and public restrooms were here long before Socialism began its creep. Sports is necessary, even in those countries where "socialism" has made it long creep into "communism". It kinda takes your mind off the corruption at the top, and permits a brief focus on something other than hate. Those same folks however, also think a lot about where their next food is coming from. Ain't Socialism great lol?
Spending money for "sports stadia and public restrooms" IS socialism. From everyone for everyone. The definition of socialism.
Apparently not, when things like this happen.
And when you drive to that sports venue over city streets, thank socialism, otherwise corporations would have to buildn their own streets and roads and highways. So, thank socialism that you don't have to ride a horse or stear an animal drawn wagon. If not for socialism, you might have to.
within a city like detroit. all sport's fan's get hazing or verbal abuse, But all go home intact. Should all home team fans act like those thugs, not a one would make it past the stadium parking lot. Thank God my home town respect's other team's fans. Maybe those gentelman's family should try and fly their colors down cass coridor, and they would be lucky to visit the hospital
"Hazing or verbal abuse" is not respecting other teams fans. Thats how this incident started. Sounds like a ticking time bomb
The quality of life in Southern California went south many years ago. I grew up in the LA area in the 60's and took buses to Dodger, USC and Laker games in Inglewood and was never harassed one time. You couldn't do that today without the possibility of your life being taken. I moved to Colorado in 1995 from Oceanside, CA to provide a better quality of life for my 2 teenage daughters. Also I have attended many games at Candlestick Park in San Francisco and have witnessed physical assaults in the stands, rest rooms and the parking lot exit near Hunters Point. So this type of behavior exists everywhere but maybe not to the extent it happened to Mr Stowe. I hope he continues on his road to his recovery so he can be a functional human being again and the thugs who committed this tragic crime are convicted to the fullest extent of the law.
I feel for the guy. What I don't understand is how 3 other friends let this guy kick him in the head when on the ground. They don't look like small guys. Why weren't they all over this guy?
Here in NYC we just had a horrific attack of an elderly woman by a black man. Were the guys who beat this kid black?
no and does it really matter?
I can see you guys know alot about where sports-thugs are the worst. Do you think the sports violence is going to get as bad as soccer thug riots are in the rest of the world? The family-room couch and big-screen is the safest place to see the game.
no the name was sanchez
Although Islamic justice is perverted in that they use it for archaic stupid reasons I would love to see this instituted here.I will bet these creeps would be worried if one was getting beheaded with a sword,another getting stoned to death (and not with weed) and the less culpable were receiving a few hundred lashes from a wet cane stick.
These two perps, and others if there were others involved, should be tied to a post, with no blindfold, no last meal, no last cigarette, and no last goodbyes. Just hand me the pistol.
At least it was not a gun crime, so anti-gunners could try to build another case to take away our guns. Now they will probably be after the boots they wore or the shoes they wore, or their fists, or whatever. No baseball bats. The only way I would ever go to any kind of an event in California (I don't live there) would be if I was armed with several pistols and knives. It is a terrible place to live now. I lived there in the 60s and it was just starting to get bad. Now it is pretty much ruled by gangs and thugs and fruits and nuts. Pelosi and Boxer exemplify the type of leadership that comes out of Calfiornia lol.
Amen "land-o-lib tards" Where PETA is considered a government agency.Where smoking a cigarette will put you in jail but smoking a joint will get you a round of drinks.Where being politically correct is more important then being kind.California sucks. Unfortunantely they keep infesting my home state of Idaho where we just want them to leave.
I've felt comfortable in my Cubby gear no matter where I go. Of course, that's probably because we Cubs fans are more hopeful than realistic. LOL. Regarding these two bums accused of "mahem", I'm not sure what a fitting punishment would be. 2 years in prison just doesn't seem like justice to me.
when it's my team or the highway, as in politics. you wind up with phyiscal abuse. this is what's wrong with sports or politics. And that's what get's all opising sides bent on violence
I wear whatever I want to.Fortunantely I am a rather large man with good fighting skills.Usually I end fights others start.I simply do not believe in harming someone who has done nothing to me.
Three of the biggest cowards around!!! Only an idiot would punch someone let alone a Sucker Punch! They should be made to take care of this guy for the rest of their lives, all income, benefits, and/or averything they have should go to caring for him. THATS ONLY FAIR!
Here are the fine, friendly, baseball loving fathers:
http://crimevoice.com/arraignment-postponed-of-suspects-in-beating-of-giants-fan-7622/stowsuspects/
these 2 waste-of-lifes should have the socks taken off their feet to pay his medical bills just for starters, but we all know they dont have a pot to piss in!