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Dodgers' Dave Roberts Strongly Agreed With Yankees' Punishment for Interfering Fans
Dave Roberts believes the interfering New York Yankees fans got what they deserved.
Before Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers manager had a pointed answer when asked what he thought of the incident of fan interference between two Yankees fans and Mookie Betts from Game 4.
The controversy stems from a play in which Mookie Betts was tracking a foul popup near the stands in right field. He reached up and caught the ball, but as he did so, a Yankees fan ripped the ball from his glove, while another grabbed his arm. Both fans were ejected and, eventually, banned from attending Game 5.
When asked about it, Roberts said, "It was just an unfortunate circumstance. I'm glad it was dealt with the right way. ... As I understand it, they got booted, and we didn't need them to be here, so they refunded their tickets. So that's perfect, right?"
His take was certainly much different than Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo, who seemed to brush off the incident as just being a result of passionate fans.
The Dodgers will look to close out the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night.
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Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.