AUSTIN, Texas – A photographer is suing the owners and handlers of the University of Texas’ live mascot for negligence, saying he suffered permanent neck and back injuries when the longhorn steer charged out of its pen and plowed into several people at the 2019 Sugar Bowl.
Nick Wagner, who was then a photographer for the Austin American-Statesman, filed a petition Friday in Travis Country district court, the newspaper reported.
“Bevo XV rammed his longhorns twice into Plaintiff’s back causing permanent injury to Plaintiff’s neck and back,” the petition says.
The group is in charge of handling the 1,700-pound (770-kilogram) steer, which has been the mascot for the University of Texas since the start of the 2016 season.
Medical documents show Wagner suffered “loss of motion” and “impairment” in two areas of his spine.