It was late summer and a man from Marion couldn’t stomach seeing Eric Gagne blow another game.
So he threw an empty water bottle in his direction.
The incident attracted considerably less fanfare than what occurred Sunday at the TD Garden, when Cole Buckley of Braintree tossed a water bottle towards Kyrie Irving’s head, earning scorn nationwide. The 21-year-old college student was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. His arraignment is set for Wednesday.
The Fenway bottle thrower, Gianno Lettieri, was charged with disturbing a public assembly — a misdemeanor.
"I was more pro-Gagne when we got him at the trade deadline, and was like, ‘Oh yeah,’ and then he just sucked," Lettieri said. "Dude, get back on the juice."
Lettieri says he didn't face discipline from the Red Sox, though a judge ordered him to stay away from Fenway Park for the rest of the season. His ban ended in the playoffs.
A friend actually tried and convince Lettieri to accompany him to a game a few days later, but the lifelong Red Sox fan passed.
"He told me to just paint my face, or something," Lettieri said. "But I felt like I had enough that weekend, honestly."
In a 2007 interview, Lettieri fessed up to his boorish behavior, while still managing to rip former Red Sox manager Terry Francona for his bullpen management.
“It’s not funny. It’s stupid. I’m an idiot, but I can’t remember when I’ve been to a win,” Lettieri said to the Herald at the time. “I was like, ‘Here’s your water, Stupid.’ I wasn’t firing at (Gagne). . . . I was actually more pissed at Francona. I mean, Manny (Ramirez) finally comes through and this is what we get. He’s a do-nothing manager, just like (Joe) Torre. What does he do besides chew gum?”
Buckley has not publicly commented since his arrest Sunday night. He was transported to the police station and booked without incident. The updated police report says the water bottle “grazed” Irving’s head. Buckley flung it at the point guard after he had stepped on the Celtics’ logo following Brooklyn’s Game 4 blowout victory.
While the felony charge seems severe for throwing a water bottle, it is appropriate, says Amy Dash, Audacy’s legal insider.
“The elements of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon are basically when you take any ordinary object and you use it in a way that’s intended to inflict injury upon somebody,” she said. “Some people think, ‘A water bottle, even if it hit him, it may not have really seriously injured him.’ But that applies to anything that’s used,” she said.
There is precedent for fans being subjected to various charges of assault and battery after throwing objects at players. Five Pacers players and five fans were hit with charges stemming from the infamous Malice at the Palace. The fan who punched Ron Artest was sentenced to 30 days in prison and two year’s probation on one count of assault and battery.
He was acquitted of an assault charge for throwing a cup.
A TD Garden spokesperson said Buckley is facing a potential lifetime ban from the venue. There have been at least five high-profile incidents of fan misbehavior during the NBA playoffs so far, prompting condemnation from players and fans alike.
Last week, Irving publicly mused about being subjected to racial taunts while playing in Boston — adding to the scrutiny of the episode. Dash says the heavy-handed charge from police could be a way to send a message.
“I think the reason they charged this fan with a felony was to make a statement,” she said. “Maybe the arena had something to do with it, because you have a lot of fans coming in now post-COVID lockdown, and I think a lot of people are just out of their minds.”
Though Buckley almost certainly won’t face jail time for his juvenile outburst, Dash says the cost could still be severe — legally and financially.
“He could get probation, but it goes on his record, he has community service, then he has to meet the conditions of the probation to have it expunged from his record,” Dash said. “So in retrospect, it’s not really worth it.”
Lettieri agrees. Though his charge was a misdemeanor, it still wound up being one expensive throw.
"It was a $500 or $600 bottle of water when all was said and done," he said.