Mascot attackers won’t face charges Tiger received extra security at state game

BANGOR – There will likely be no action taken in the case of the Dexter Tiger mascot versus the anonymous fans in which Dexter High senior Quinn Dillon, who plays the mascot, said he was attacked after the Feb. 24 Eastern Maine Class C girls championship game between Dexter and Calais.

Dillon said the incident occurred after Dexter beat Calais 45-38 in the Eastern Maine Class C final on Feb. 24.

“There’s really nothing we can do about it,” Dexter principal Steve Bell said before Saturday’s Class C state final in which the Dexter girls were participating. “The [Maine Principals’ Association] looked into it and I know some police officers and security people were looking into it. The unfortunate thing is obviously Quinn doesn’t know who [the attackers] were. There wasn’t much anyone could do. It was in the back stairwell and there were no cameras.”

Garry Spencer, the chairman of the B-C-D basketball committee and the principal of Central High in Corinth, said the Auditorium provided extra security for Dillon when he went back into a back stairwell to change after Saturday’s state game.

“They kept a better eye on things,” Spencer said of the state game. “It’s such a big building that [the security staff does] the best they can.”

Dillon told MPA officials and Auditorium security he believed he was attacked by three people, one of whom was a girl, but he was unable to see who the people were.

After Dillon changed into his street clothes that night, tournament floor manager Jerry Goss and Dillon scanned the stands, but Dillon was unable to identify his attackers.

Without that, little can be done.

“If we could have, we would have prosecuted,” Spencer said.

Dillon said he suffered a bloody nose after he was pushed in the face with his mascot head still on.

He’s fine now, he added, but was a bit worried at the time not only for his overall safety, but for an injury to his head.

As a sophomore on the junior varsity basketball team, Dillon suffered a concussion. He also passed out during a school concert last year.

“I’ve had some problems with my head, so I tried to protect that as best as I could,” he said of his actions during the attack. “I try to be careful.”

Dillon said the incident occurred when he had left the basketball court after the game to change into his clothes. He was carrying a clear plastic tub in which he stores the mascot costume.

After he gave a high-five to a friend he knew from Guilford, and heard some friendly razzing from other fans, Dillon started up the stairs.

Dillon said he then felt someone pull on the mascot’s tail, which caused him to turn around. Someone hit him hard in the face with the heels of their hands, which caused the bloody nose.

He was hit several more times in the chest after that and the attackers fled.

“A lot of people have said, ‘They ripped his head off and punched him in the face,'” Dillon said. “That didn’t happen. The head stayed on and I’m fine, really.”

Dillon knows he has his detractors because of some of his antics, including yawning when the opponent’s names are read during the pregame announcements.

He keeps up with the back-and-forth conversations about him on MBR.org, a Web site with discussion groups about a variety of topics, including high school sports.

After the Mount Abram of Strong girls basketball team beat Dexter 55-52 Saturday for the Class C state title, some spectators complained on MBR that the Tiger was in their way when they were trying to take pictures during the award ceremony.

Others supported the Tiger, praising his energy.

“I push it to the limit, I know,” Dillon said.

Dillon, who also plays soccer and participates in a variety of school activities, is going to Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., next fall and has a good chance to be the next Falcons mascot because the two current mascots are graduating.

As an NCAA Division III institution, Messiah cannot award athletic scholarships but Dillon said he has received a 55 percent academic scholarship. He’s fifth in his class and earned Eagle Scout honors in December.

“I was talking to one of the MPA people [after the assault] and he said, you know, you’re a lot different than I thought you would be,” Dillon said. “People think I’m just the mascot, but I do a lot of stuff. I do more than run around out there.”