Patrick Weier said he "lost his head" when he punched a man in a Chicago bar who removed the head to his "Billy Cub" costume while he was taking pictures with fans.
Weier, the brother of the John Paul Weier, who created the the unofficial mascot the "Billy Cub" years ago, claims a man was antagonizing him in Wrigleyville's John Barleycorn Saturday when the harassment escalated and led to a fight.
The incident was captured in a video that was later posted to YouTube, showing a man removing the "Billy Cub" costume's head and refusing to give it back before Weier punches him.
John Paul Weier said his brother was being harassed by the patron before the video footage began. He said the man was punching his brother in the back, shoving him into the bar and continued to poke and hit him until his brother confronted the man.
Patrick Weier claimed the man tried to tackle him from behind as he was taking a picture with fans. The move prompted a "stare down" between the two before the man stopped.
He said the man left, but came back shortly after and removed the costume’s head.
"I turned and reached and tried to grab the head back and he wouldn't let go and I swung at him," Patrick Weier said. "I’ve been doing this for eight years now and there’s a lot times that people try to tackle you, push you, hit you in the head so I mean we’ve taken our fair share of abuse. This is the first time it’s escalated to that point."
Renae Kondrat, who filmed the incident, said she and her friends were taking pictures with "Billy Cub" when the incident started.
"A drunk guy threw himself into [Billy Cub] and I happened to have my camera so I started recording and it all happened real fast," she said. "I wasn't surprised. You're not supposed to take off the mascot's head, everybody knows that."
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Patrick Weier said one of the men also stole his tip jar after the fight and he had to chase it down. But at the end of the day, he said he apologizes for his actions.
"I do want to apologize to those at Barleycorn for letting that happen. I lost my head," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of the people that we come in contact with love interacting with 'Billy Cub.' We take pictures with people, we make their day. Every once in a while you get a person that tries to mess with you."
John Paul Weier said he doesn't condone the fight, but believes fans will understand.
“It’s obviously not good publicity. You never want anything like this to happen, but from what I’ve read online it seems like people understand that the guy was antagonizing [my brother],” Weier said. “It wasn’t something he was looking to do.”
