College Basketball Announcer Attacked In Downtown Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 01: A 165-foot tall NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket is seen on the JW Marriott Indianapolis leading up to the 2015 Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 1, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The bracket is 44,000 square-feet. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
A college basketball announcer was reportedly attacked in downtown Indianapolis, but has thankfully emerged with only a couple of bruises.
Mike Parker, a veteran play-by-play announcer for the Oregon State men's basketball team, was reportedly tackled a couple of hours before the Sweet 16 game on Saturday.
The veteran play-by-play announcer said he was walking along the downtown’s Canal Walk on Saturday when he was approached by a man. The man was reportedly very interested in his bag. Parker repeatedly told the man that it was his work bag.
“Do you have a bomb in that bag?” the man reportedly asked.
Parker reportedly continually told him it was his work bag before walking away. After walking away, the man reportedly run after him and tackled him.
Oregon Live had more details:
Suddenly, the man ran after Parker and tackled him. Parker said his shoe came off, his Beavers polo shirt was ripped, he had some abrasions on his right elbow, and he almost fell into the water.
There were many people in the area, including Indianapolis police who were riding the area on bicycles. They came to Parker’s aid and talked to him. Parker told the officer he did not want to press charges, and walked back to his hotel. He did not know what happened to the man from there.
It's unclear what happened to the man who tackled Parker.
Parker, thankfully, emerged from the scary incident with just a few scrapes and bruises. He went on to call Oregon State's win over Loyola Chicago in the Sweet 16.
Oregon State is set to play Houston in the Elite Eight on Monday night.
