Carmickle is the fool who toppled over a railing in the outfield of Chase Field during the Home Run Derby on Monday night. If not for his brother and a friend, who grabbed his legs before he toppled to the pool deck 20 feet below, the Kingman, Ariz., resident would probably not be walking around right now.
News reports of Carmickle's idiocy on TV and online have carried the customary mention of Stone. It's fair to mention them together in context; Stone was the Brownwood, Texas, firefighter who fell over a railing Rangers Ballpark and died after Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton tossed a foul ball in the direction of Stone and Stone's son.
On SportsCenter, they called the events "similar," which should be offensive to anyone who has followed the Stone story.
In each case, a fan fell over the railing at a baseball game. The similarities end there.
"Baseball fan almost replays fatal fall," reads a CNN.com headline, which could only have been written by someone unfamiliar with the details of Stone's accident and Carmickle's little stunt. A replay would mean the two are generally the same. Photos before the near-fall show Carmickle standing on a narrow table near the railing in the outfield. This was not an unfortunate tumble; it was premeditated stupidity. Stone, in contrast, was one of the unfortunate victims of those unfortunate, blameless things that sometimes happen in this world.
The most disturbing part of the Arizona incident, however, comes near the end of The Associated Press story:
"The trio spoke with security personnel a few minutes later and were allowed to remain in the game, with Carmickle putting his arm around a security guard who told him to be careful before he walked back to his seat."
Really? Security personnel — who, by the way, should have immediately ordered Carmickle down as soon as he stood on the table — didn't kick him and his friends out of the stadium?
Listen, I've seen fans thrown out of Fenway Park for engaging in a shouting match that got a little too intense and I once saw a fan escorted out of a game in Philadelphia for throwing food. If a ketchup-stained shirt is grounds for removal, a fan risking his life is, too. If you're a member of Chase Field security, you should be ashamed one of your co-workers allowed Carmickle and his buddies to remain in the stadium on Monday.
Thank heavens Carmickle was not injured. Being a clown does not justify suffering physical harm.
But his actions are not in the same category as Stone's. Not even close.
