Dwyan Morgan, an electrician from Missouri, was accused of being the fan who pointed a laser pointer in the direction of Tom Brady during a championship game.
“In Missouri, prosecutors charge Dwyan Morgan, 64, with disturbing the peace, in reference to shining a laser light at @TomBrady during a KC Chiefs’ football game at Arrowhead Stadium in January,” wrote Bill Sheerin, of Fox 25, on Twitter. Dwyan Morgan is from Lee’s Summit.
Dwyan Morgan is facing a year in jail or a $1,000 fine. He was cited with disturbing the peace.
A relative posted a copy of what appears to be the ticket on Facebook, writing, “Well, this is one for the books folks. #lasergate #busted #f*cktombrady.” A photo on Facebook appears to show Morgan at the game in question (see above.)
The ticket a relative posted on Facebook
The laser-pointing incident occurred in Kansas City, Missouri during the AFC Championship Game. ESPN was first to break the news that the alleged laser pointer suspect had been identified and “apprehended.” That story broke on the day of Super Bowl LIII in which Brady and the New England Patriots eventually vanquished the Los Angeles Rams. However, not much was heard about it all until April 9 when Morgan’s name was released.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. An Eagle-Eyed Photographer Caught the Laser Pointer on Camera & Morgan’s Relative Joked About the Ticket on Facebook
You can see the moment above; William Joy, a KMBC-TV reporter, wrote on Twitter, “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.”
That was on January 21, 2019. The identity of the mysterious laser-pointing fan was initially not known.
According to USA Today, the laser pointer appeared on Brady’s face in “multiple instances …both before a snap and during a play itself.”
The younger male relative who posted the ticket on Facebook seemed to think the matter was funny. On the comment thread under the ticket, he wrote, “It should have said ‘during an AFC Championship game’ hahaha.” He also posted this photo:
A friend responded, “You sir, are a true patriot!” to which the relative said, “The only true Patriot.” Another friend wrote, “It was you? Lol.” The relative responded, “US,” to which the friend wrote, “??? epic.”
A woman wrote on the thread, “I remember when your dad told me ‘his boys were going to be Cowboy fans”…bahahaha.'” The relative added, “I did, and use to be a Cowboys fan, but then I turned 10…” He also wrote, “So get this. I posted this on Patrick Mahomes Fan Page, it blew up. Now its deleted and I’m getting hate mail. Ha. I love #chiefskingdom.”
2. Dwyan Morgan Is From Texas & Has Multiple Facebook Pages
Dwyan Morgan
Dwyan Morgan has multiple Facebook pages. One of them says he’s from Texas. That page contains photos of an American flag and antique car.
According to ESPN, the Chiefs wanted criminal charges in the case, although the police were originally considering a disorderly conduct ticket. However, as with drones at airports, laser pointers and stadiums do not mix: A message needed to be sent.
GettyTom Brady.
ESPN reported that the Chiefs officials considered criminal charges to be a deterrent and wanted “the harshest penalty possible.”
As noted, though, Morgan now faces a citation.
People were checked for laser pointers before entering Super Bowl 2019, according to ESPN. Despite the seriousness, some fans used the moment to joke on Twitter. Wrote one, “The NFL is investigating where the laser pointer directed at Tom Brady during the AFC title game came from. To figure out who was rooting for Tom Brady to fail . . . investigators have narrowed their search down to everyone.”
3. Morgan Has Worked as a Journeyman Wireman & Tom Brady Is Not the Only NFL Player Targeted by Laser Pointers
Dwyan Morgan
According to one of his Facebook pages, Dwyan Morgan has worked as a “Journeyman Wireman at IBEW Local 124.” Another page said he worked as an electrician and lived in Kansas. He wrote that he studied at the University of Texas.
Brady is not alone in being targeted by a laser pointer. Then-Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler was also targeted.
The incident occurred in 2016 when the Texans played the Raiders during Monday Night Football. Someone in the crowd shone a green laser pointer on Osweiler, SBNation reported.
The laser pointer flashed on the field several times during the game. Osweiler was, understandably, unhappy about it.
“There was multiple times I saw a green laser coming from the stands. There was a couple of times it definitely hit me in the eye. It was very noticeable,” he said after the game, according to SBNation. “I never want to say one thing’s a difference maker, but certainly having a laser zoomed in on your eyeball definitely affects how you play a game.”
4. Laser Pointers Can Cause Eye Damage
ARRESTED, BANNED: The person accused of flashing a laser pointer at Tom Brady during the AFC Championship game has been apprehended and banned from Arrowhead Stadium, an ESPN report says. t.co/wrZbYrjDgS
Scientific American asked Douglas A. Johnson, a senior health physicist and laser safety officer for Texas A&M University, about laser pointer danger. He said it’s possible that a pocket laser pointer could cause eye damage, although that’s far from certain. It depends on whether the manufacturer followed regulations.
“Possible more potentially damaging — although not to the eye — is that a regular pointer laser can overwhelm the eye with light, typically called flash blindness,” he told Scientific American. “If a person is walking a rocky path, operating machinery, a vehicle or aircraft, this temporary loss of vision could cause injury or disaster.”
According to the site Laser Pointer Safety, various factors contribute to the possibility of damage. Some of them include “the power of the beam,” “the divergence (beam spread),” and “distance from the beam (how much the beam was able to spread before going into your eye).”
Either way, it’s not something to mess around with.
5. The Fan Was Banned From the Kansas City Chiefs Stadium
The Chiefs have confirmed that the individual who shined a laser pointer at Tom Brady during the AFC Championship Game was identified. The person, who is not a season ticket member, has been banned from future events at Arrowhead Stadium, per a team spokesperson.
Not only were the Chiefs hoping that the fan would be charged by the Kansas City District Attorney, they also took another step. They banned the fan from Arrownhead Stadium.
The Patriots won the game 37-31. The fan is not a season ticket holder.
Some fans felt the media weren’t making a big enough deal out of the laser pointing incident. “Apparently someone was shinning a laser pointer at Brady during the AFC championship yet no one is talking about it just imagine if it was the other way around, all we would hear about is how terrible the pats are lol can’t trust the media at all these days,” wrote one man on Twitter.
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Dwyan Morgan: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know