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Karl Anthony Towns's Dad Considering Suing Timberwolves for Mascot-Induced Injury

Minnesota's mascot, Crunch, injured KAT's dad's leg in a sledding stunt gone awry.

So, this is a weird one. It seems back before the All-Star break, Karl Towns, Sr., father of Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony, was taken out by Crunch, the Timberwolves mascot, and is considering filing a suit against the team for negligence. According to Michael McCann at Sports Illustrated, Towns, Sr. suffered a significant leg injury when Crunch crashed his sled into an empty chair that was next to him. The chair then slammed into his leg.

Towns Sr. suffered considerable pain and was given an ice pack to reduce swelling. The Crossover has learned that while arena attendants encouraged Towns Sr. to leave the game and seek care at a local hospital, he refused to do so. Towns Sr. believed that his son—the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 2016—would notice his father's absence. In turn, Towns Sr. reasoned, Towns Jr. might worry about his father's health and not play as well. Towns Sr. stuck around for the rest of the game, but by the end, his knee had begun to swell considerably and he couldn't put any weight on it. Arena attendants provided Towns Sr. with crutches. He hobbled out of the arena and was taken to a local hospital for an MRI.

McCann says that the elder Towns is "considering his legal options" which appears to include using the media to threaten a lawsuit against his son's own team. Here's the last sentence in the article: "The reality is that the Timberwolves do not want to litigate against the father of the team's franchise player—such a move would obviously damage the team's chances at keeping Towns Jr. for the long haul. It stands to reason that a deal could be had long before anyone appears in court."

This is all pretty weird! Not least of all because there is no mention of what exactly Towns, Sr. is looking for. It's alleged that he has a significant injury, is in significant pain, and was hobbling around on crutches during All-Star Weekend. We don't know if the pain/limited mobility is permanent, if he had to have surgery, or if he has other medical bills he's looking to get covered. All of those things are recoverable in a lawsuit, but we just don't know what is driving the need for judicial intervention. All we know is that Karl-Anthony Towns's dad is pissed off enough at Minnesota's dumb mascot that he is threatening to sue the organization.