The mascot is a fixture at every game. He (or she… or it in some cases?) is usually a lovable creature with enthusiasm and zeal. With a recognizable costume and a penchant for hamming it up, mascots are a living embodiment of team spirit.
 

But sometimes mascots go bad… very bad.
 

Don’t let the outgoing personality fool you. Arrests, drug busts and fights are not uncommon, particularly on college campuses, but they are all the more disturbing when the mugshot is of the face of your favorite team.
 

It’s important to remember, though, that on the inside (literally inside the costume), the mascot is a real person and, like any other real person, he or she can make mistakes. Some mascots have made more than a few mistakes. But we love them anyone… even more so because we have a fascination with trainwrecks.
 

If you can peel your eyes away from the game, check out this little taste of some mascots, both professional and college, gone horribly wrong:
 

D. Baxter

The most recent discovery of mascot mayhem occurred not long ago when the Arizona Diamondbacks’ mascot received a DUI (while driving a car with the team logo on it and the costume in the trunk) and admitted to smoking up beforehand. Turns out he was arrested back in September, but he kept it a secret… until now. Needless to say, David Hamilton was fired.

Nittany Lion

DUIs are popular among mascots and Penn State’s got in on the action this December. Just hours before Penn State beat Michigan State, James Sheep, a senior, was arrested when he was driving with passengers piled in the car, and his DUI put his status at the Rose Bowl in question.

Stanford Tree

This foliage is a repeat offender. In February 2006 the mascot was arrested for getting wasted at a Cal-Stanford game and then, only a month later, the Tree was fined and sanctioned by Stanford for drunken debauchery at the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Benny Bull and Da Bull

With two mascots, the Chicago Bears have had (at least) twice the trouble. In 2005,

Da Bull was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell when it was found in his car with a scale. The next year, his “cousin” Benny faced misdemeanor battery charges after allegedly punching an ff-duty police officer. More recently Benny got in some hot water for shooting T-shirts form an air gun at Celtics players.

Steely McBeam

It’s not even interesting anymore. Back in April, one of the guys who played the Steeler’s mascot was arrested for, you guessed it, drunk driving.

Bucky the Badger

I almost feel bad calling this a mascot gone “horribly wrong.” The poor Wisconsin mascot was arrested and given a $141.50 ticket for crowd surfing during a game. What probably didn’t help his case was spelling his name for the officers “Badger. B-A-D-G…”

Sebastian the Ibis

Way back in 1989, the Miami Hurricanes’ mascot thought he’d stir up a little rivalry. When Sebastian took to the field with a fire extinguisher to put out FSU’s flaming spears, police descended, pushing the mascot against a wall and emptying his extinguisher.