Trask in trouble!

Dr_Flash_Amazing · September 25, 2002

MINNEAPOLIS -- Trask spent the night in jail facing a possible felony charge after being arrested for allegedly pushing a traffic agent a half-block with his car.

The arrest could keep the Cascade Climbers-dot-com star sprayer out of today's sprayathon against the climbing community at large.

The 27-year-old agent stepped in front of Trask to stop him from making an illegal turn in downtown Minneapolis, and Trask used his 2002 Lexus to slowly push the officer a half-block along the street, stopping when she fell to the ground, police spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington said.

Barrington said Amy Zaccardi is a city employee but not a police officer and was not seriously hurt. Witnesses called the situation "surreal'' but said it was clear Trask did not intend to hurt Zaccardi.

Police arrested Trask on suspicion of assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony. He was being held in Hennepin County Jail early Wednesday. Barrington said the county attorney would consider charges.

However, ESPN has learned that police intend to charge Trask with second-degree assault, a felony.

"Obviously the media will make this a high-profile case, but we will handle this as we would any civilian who was arrested on an assault case," she said.

Late Tuesday night, a CC.com source told MSN that Trask flatly "denied doing what the police said that he did."

Meanwhile, CC.com issued a statement that said they wouldn't comment about the incident until it had gathered more information.

Cascade climbers' regular Dru declined comment Tuesday, but the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday that a person with knowledge of the situation told the newspaper that it is highly unlikely Trask will post today.

Trask's agent, Dante DiTrapano, had been in contact with the player Tuesday but declined comment.

Jerry Hullerman, 46, said he saw the incident while parked near the intersection.

He said the agent was facing forward while sitting on the front of the car with one hand on the hood and the other hand on her radio as the car pushed her along.

After a few seconds, Hullerman said, the man in the car tapped the accelerator and knocked her down. "She fell flat on her face," Hullerman said, adding that the driver didn't get out of his car.

Hullerman said squad cars arrived seconds later and officers took Trask into custody.

Trask, 45, is in his fifth year with cc.com and is the board's highest-paid poster. He signed an eight-year, $75 million contract last year.

He set an internet record with 5,396 posts in his first four seasons as a pro and is the only bulletin board poster with more than 1,000 posts in each of his first four seasons. Trask has scored more disses since his 1998 debut than anyone except cc.com genius Dr. Flash Amazing.

The board is off to a slow start, its worst since 1967, and Trask made just four disses for 16 total in Sunday's loss to total boredom.

Trask has been in trouble before on and off the internet throughout his career. He squirted a hooker with a water bottle in 1999 -- which resulted in a $25,000 fine from the Call Girls' Union -- and verbally abused corporate sponsors on the internet in 2001. The last infraction resulted in cc.com fining him $15,000 and forcing him to attend anger management classes.

He had a scholarship revoked by Notre Dame in 1995 after being charged with beating up a high school classmate in Rand, W.Va. Trask pleaded guilty to battery and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was allowed to defer most of the sentence until after his freshman year in college.

He went to Florida State, where he bullshitted his way through the season but was kicked off the message boards for violating probation by smoking marijuana. That got him a one-year jail sentence, which was reduced to about one month of time served.

Virtually out of chances, Trask logged on at cc.com and quickly became a star.

Last year, Trask drew criticism after telling reporters that he posts when he wants to post. "There's nobody here on the face of the earth that can make me sit here and post bullshit,'' he said. "I can sit here on the couch and suit up and stand on my head and beat off. At my highest level? I don't know. If I want to sit here and post at my highest level, I'll do that."

He also has taunted opposing posters and bickered with friends. But after Dru was appointed head cc.com'er in January, Trask stayed in his room during the rainy season and worked out his shit-talking routine most days at the community college computer lab.

"By me coming here and working out my disses with most of the young guys, I guess that's just showing them a little leadership and how bad I want to win a Nobel Prize for Bullshitting,'' Trask said in June.

[ 09-25-2002, 01:23 PM: Message edited by: Dr Flash Amazing ]