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The Case Of The Laser Pointer during the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium is now closed.
According to a report from TMZ, Dwyan Morgan of Lee’s Summit appeared in court Wednesday, pleaded guilty and was fined $500. TMZ said Morgan paid the fine.
In early April, Morgan, 64, was charged with disturbing the peace for shining a green laser pointer at New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during the conference championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs on January 20.
The charge carried a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a fine of $1,000.
The incident went unnoticed by either team or the officiating crew during the game. But in the following days, video captured by KMBC-TV photographer Turner Twyman emerged that clearly showed the laser light hitting Brady’s jersey. In Twyman’s video, Brady doesn’t appear to notice that it happened.
Our photographer, Turner Twyman, caught someone pointing what appears to be a laser pointer in Tom Brady's face last night. Play between the "muff" that wasn't and Sorensen int. @NFL, @Patriots and @Chiefs all told me they weren't aware of the incident. pic.twitter.com/ejWBQ6i64C
— William Joy (@WilliamKMBC) January 21, 2019
Both the Chiefs and the NFL investigated. In early February, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that Morgan — then unnamed as the culprit — had been identified. The Chiefs banned him for life from Arrowhead, and were reported to have pressured officials to be sure Morgan received the harshest possible penalty.
Since the incident occurred in a nationally-televised championship game and represented a case of poor sportsmanship, it received national attention. Even common handheld laser pointers — if pointed directly at someone’s eyes — can cause flash blindness, and can potentially cause injury.