At no point in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" are fans warned to shield their eyes from an onslaught of hot dogs hurled by a man in a lion suit. That's because the threat is not an "inherent" risk of attending a game, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
The case stems from a 2009 incident in which Kansas City Royals mascot Sluggerrr nailed fan John Coomer in the eye with a hot dog. (Sluggerrr and his helpers often throw hot dogs or launch them via air cannon into the crowd.) Coomer suffered a detached retina and sued the Royals, though a trial court ruled against him after the team argued that fans assume the risk of being hit with all kinds of projectiles — from balls and bats to, yes, hot dogs — when watching a game.
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