TOMS RIVER, N.J. — The punishment for a New Jersey pizza man who finished last in his fantasy football league included a very public walk of shame and a pair of women’s underwear. ADVERTISING TOMS RIVER, N.J. — The punishment
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — The punishment for a New Jersey pizza man who finished last in his fantasy football league included a very public walk of shame and a pair of women’s underwear.
Angelo Boemio, 42, marched down a roadway in Toms River wearing only pink women’s bikini bottoms and sneakers while hoisting a sign signifying his fantasy football misfortune. The pizzeria owner strolled along Route 9 for 10 minutes on Labor Day, inducing hilarity and horror in pedestrians and motorists.
Boemio told the New York Post that people honked their horns and a woman with four children in her minivan drove back-and-forth five times as the kids laughed at his display.
Police also called his business to say they were getting calls from concerned citizens, he said.
“People were calling to say there’s some weirdo in a bikini walking down Route 9, but the officers knew it was a product of fantasy loss, so they let us have our walk of shame,” Boemio said.
The league is made up mostly of pizzeria owners and adopted the shame-inducing statute two years ago to keep participants from losing interest once their teams had no shot of winning the league.
“Now the league is no longer about winning,” Boemio said. “It’s just about not coming in last place. No one wants to be mortified.”