Pitcher Rich Hill, wife arrested at Patriots game after bag policy dispute over fanny pack
Major League Baseball veteran Rich Hill was arrested at a New England Patriots game alongside his wife on Saturday for refusing to leave the grounds after a dispute over an oversized bag, according to the Boston Globe.
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Hill was reportedly charged with disorderly conduct and resisting when he allegedly tried to interfere as the police were putting his wife Caitlin into a prisoner transport vehicle to book her for disorderly conduct and trespassing charges.
From the Globe:
“She was trying to enter the stadium with an oversized bag and she had been told several times, ‘no,’” said Robert Bolger, chief administrator for Foxborough police. “She tried several times to go to a different gate. She was ordered to leave the property.”
Both Rich and Caitlin Hill were reportedly arraigned Monday, with their criminal charges changed to civil infractions by the district attorney. Rich’s felony charge of resisting arrest was reportedly dismissed.
The bag that Caitlin was stopped for was a fanny pack — which, although small, is still technically prohibited under the NFL’s notoriously stringent bag policy.
“Despite Saturday’s events, my great respect for law enforcement remains unchanged,” Hill said in a statement, via the Boston Globe. “However, seeing my wife handcuffed for a problem that started because of her fanny pack was extremely difficult for me to witness.
“This was all overblown and we are glad to have it behind us.”
Hill’s arrest occurs while he’s still a free agent during the MLB offseason. He posted strong numbers in a 2019 season limited by a forearm strain, posting a 2.45 ERA in 13 starts while striking out 72. The 39-year-old is projected by FanGraphs to get a one-year, $10 million deal for 2020.
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