Jacob Waddell is free to return to Tennessee as a legend among Nashville Predators fans.
Allegheny County, Pa., prosecutors announced Wednesday they’ll drop charges against Wadell, the Predators fan who threw a catfish on the ice at the Pittsburgh Penguins’ home, PPG Paints Arena, during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, according to The Associated Press.
Wadell was ejected from the venue Monday and subsequently arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, possessing instruments of crime and disrupting meetings or processions. But Allegheny County district attorney Stephen Zappala said Wednesday on Facebook that Wadell’s act of Predators fandom “do not rise to the level of criminal charges,” and the charges “will be withdrawn in a timely manner.”
Wadell, 36, went to great lengths to sneak a catfish into PPG Paints Arena and toss it on the ice, as Predators fans have done during home games since 2003. His catfish throw made him a hero to Predators fans like singer Carrie Underwood but a villain to some in Pennsylvania.
But the blemish on Wadell’s record will vanish now that prosecutors seemingly have come to their senses.
Thumbnail photo via Don Wright/USA TODAY Sports Images
