A University of Minnesota booster has been banned from the campus' Sports Pavilion and Williams Arena for one year after punching the school's beloved mascot Goldy Gopher, the Star Tribune reported Thursday.
Douglas Dokken, a 60-year-old math professor at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, lost his cool with the buck-toothed mascot after Goldy sat behind him and began tapping on his shoulder during a men's gymnastics meet Saturday night.
"You know, it's the old trick where you tap people on the wrong shoulder and they turn and don't see you because you're on the other side," Goldy's coach, Mike Elder, told the Tribune.
Goldy had reportedly played the trick on other fans, inducing smiles and laughter from the kids trailing behind him.
But Dokken had no initial reaction to the furry fan favorite. It was only after Goldy made a third attempt to get the math professor's attention that Dokken suddenly turned and punched the mascot, knocking him back into the bleachers.
"The kids went from laughing to screaming because they were right there," Elder said. "[Goldy] was shocked."
Elder told the Tribune that Dokken then stood over the reeling gopher before delivering another blow to his oversized noggin.
University Police Lt. Troy Buhta told the Tribune that Dokken was cited for disorderly conduct and has been banned from the sports facilities for one year.
Dokken said he regrets the incident.
"I should have just walked out of there," he said through a statement obtained by the Tribune.
Dokken, who has taught at St. Thomas for 26 years, got his doctorate from Minnesota and is a longtime fan of the school's athletic programs, according to the Tribune.
St. Thomas spokesman Jim Winterer told the paper that Dokken even has sweatshirts with Goldy on them hanging in his office.
