(above : anonymous schlub on the left, being shaken down for money by the unsavory character on the right)
Last summer, the Chicago Cubs’ objections to John Paul Weir’s unofficial Billy Cub enterprise were mentioned in this space, but on Friday, those gripes were elevated to a formal lawsuit filed in U.S. district court, as described below by the Chicago Tribune :
The team said John Paul Weier and Patrick Weier show up for games garbed in their “Billy Cub” outfits, including Cubs caps and jerseys, offering to have pictures and videos taken with fans.
But unlike the team’s real mascot, Clark the Cub, the two impostors “seek to hustle those same fans for ‘fees’ or ‘tips,'” the complaint said, adding that they deliberately try to create the impression they are officially associated with the team.
It said the men’s behavior was damaging to the goodwill of the Cubs and misleading to fans, some of whom complained to the team about the characters’ “inappropriate and unsavory” actions.
The lawsuit said the pair’s misconduct escalated to violence in April when Patrick Weier punched a man who had removed the head of Weier’s costume during a scuffle at a bar near Wrigley Field.