NFL Quarterback Sues Over Mascot Accident

DECEMBER 18--Quarterback Adrian McPherson, who was injured during a pre-season game when run over by a golf cart driven by the Tennessee Titans's raccoon mascot, has sued the NFL team for $20 million in damages.

McPherson, 23, was warming up before the start of the second half of an August game between the Titans and the New Orleans Saints, who drafted McPherson in 2005 and signed him to a three-year contract. That's when T-Rac, the Titans mascot, recklessly ran over McPherson, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Tennessee Circuit Court.

The December 15 complaint, a copy of which you can find here, notes that McPherson was listed on the Saints roster as a quarterback and "was going to play in other significant capacities for the Saints." However, "as a result of the wreck," McPherson was forced to miss the entire pre-season as well as the NFL season, since he was placed on the team's injured reserve list.

McPherson contends that the Titans are culpable for damages since the club allowed "its mascot to operate motorized vehicles on the field while players are present." The lawsuit, which seeks $5 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages, does not specify McPherson's injuries.

According to his page on the Titans web site, T-Rac (who was named after Tennessee's official state wild animal) lists drag racing in his motorized chariot as one of his hobbies. And his favorite saying is listed as, "I didn't do it!" (4 pages)