The scales of justice have tilted toward an ice hockey fan who was arrested for tossing a filleted catfish into the rink of an NHL play-off game, with a prosecutor announcing that the man would not face charges.
Jacob Waddell, 36, was escorted out of Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena and arrested by police after lobbing the carcass onto the ice during the opening game of the Stanley Cup play-offs between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators on Monday.
Waddell was facing charges including disorderly conduct, disrupting a meeting and possessing an instrument of crime.
Waddell, who lives in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, had bought the fish near his home before driving some 900km northeast to Pittsburgh. He filleted the fish and drove over it with his pick-up truck, before vacuum sealing the flattened remains, which he stuffed into his underpants.
During the game, which the Penguins won 5-3, Waddell pulled the fish from his pants in the toilet but kept it concealed until the second period.
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Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala has reviewed video and other evidence in the case and "made the determination that the actions of Mr Waddell do not rise to the level of criminal charges. As such, the three charges filed against Mr Waddell will be withdrawn in a timely manner," a spokesman said.
Fans of the Detroit Red Wings have been throwing raw octopus onto the ice at play-off games since the 1950s. Nashville fans adapted the tradition using a characteristic Southern delicacy since the early 2000s.
