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Former teammates and friends defend Blue Jays beer toss suspect

Friends question finger pointing at winner of 2013 Friend of Sport Award.
161005kenpaganjaysCP
Canadian Press photo

Former teammates and friends of Ken Pagan are coming to his defence on social media. 

The former sports editor at the North Bay Nugget has identified himself in reports as the man in the Toronto Police photo which went viral Wednesday evening.  

Pagan was charged with mischief by police Thursday.

He has told reporters he was drinking out of a cup at the time, a statement that appears to be backed up by photos circulating on social media.

The Sudbury native who called North Bay home for eight years made a lasting impression on the sports community that he left in 2013 when he moved to take on a copy editor position at Post Media in Hamilton.   

In that year, the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame honoured Pagan with the “Friend of Sport” award.  

“Ken Pagan not only reported on the sporting community, he was an integral part of the sporting community,” the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame stated in the awards release in 2013. 

“He did so with no fanfare and through unselfish dedication of his time and talent. He provided athletes in the area their ’15 minutes of fame’ to local citizens.”  

Many of Pagan’s former teammates and friends believe throwing a beer onto the field during a Jays game is totally out of Pagan's character.  

“I'm blown away that everyone thinks it's Kenny Pagan,” stated Scott Jackson on Facebook.   

“We played baseball together for 3 years I've known him for probably 10; he's Mr. Respect Baseball . . . I just don't see him doing this.”  

“Hopefully gets a apology and a lawsuit win for this fiasco,” stated Jason Ferriera, another former teammate on Facebook.  

"I'm having a really hard time believing a guy who loves the game as much as Ken would do something like that," Marc Paxton added on Facebook.  


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Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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