wfgodot
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Rum business, this. Didn't quite know what category to put it in - "Up to the Minute"? "Bizarre and Offbeat News"?
A five-state ban in place for the 'Piggyback Bandit' (Sports Illustrated/AP)
A five-state ban in place for the 'Piggyback Bandit' (Sports Illustrated/AP)
Wait - what?HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- The stocky man showed up in a basketball uniform for a game at Century High School in North Dakota. Players and coaches assumed he was a fan who had come with another team, so nobody objected when he began to pitch in around the bench.
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After the game was over, the man joined the winning team on the court and asked if he could get a piggyback ride. One bemused player gave it to him.
"He makes himself appear as if he's limited or handicapped. I think he plays an empathy card, so to speak," Haussler said.
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He....so, who is this guy, and what did you say he did??Shayegan's antics stretch back to 2008 and had been mainly confined to Washington and Oregon. But since last fall, he has worked his way east to Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota, leaving a trail of befuddled athletes in his wake.
Shayegan has asked for piggybacks, attempted to pay for piggybacks and just sprung one upon an unsuspecting kid. He favors basketball games, but he also has leapt onto hockey, soccer and football players.
He has pretended to interview athletes for a term paper, acted as a team manager or just tried to blend in with the crowd for a piggyback payoff.
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much more at link aboveLittle is publicly available about Shayegan's background other than his arrest record [16 convictions for criminal tresspass, vehicle prowling, resisting arrest, and felony possession of a controlled substance].
One person who has known Shayegan for several years is Mike Colbrese, the executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. .
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Nobody knew where he lived or what he did, Colbrese said. Eventually, he was viewed as an eccentric nuisance who generally bothered staff for jerseys or for a role at games.
Things changed in 2008, when Joel E. Ferris High School of Spokane won that year's state basketball tournament and Colbrese spotted Shayegan hanging around the locker room after the game.
"He was jumping on players' backs after they showered and came out of the locker room," Colbrese said.
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