This is one of the benefits of following one Willam Leitch on Twitter is that sometimes it leads you to stories like this from his hometown of Mattoon (Illinois). As usual, our emphasis in bold:
A bar is under the microscope after a contest goes very wrong. The Villa Nova Bar and grill is under scrutiny for allegedly letting people take their clothes off during a mechanical bull riding contest.
The manager of the Villa Nova Bar was fined $75 for violating the city's obscenity laws. Some media outlets reported that he was arrested, but on Thursday, we spoke with manager Kevin Parrott who said, that's not the case. Parrott said he was only slapped with the fine, he was not arrested.
He was accused of letting women expose themselves during a bull riding event. He and the owner declined an on-camera interview, advised by their lawyer, but they maintain that both the men and women were not naked in the bar. Parrott said that some of the people did take their shirts off, but he stressed that the women were not nude.
Just a hunch, but we're guessing the bar recouped more than $75 from thirsty patrons entertained by the shirtless bull riding. TIGHTEN YOUR OBSCENITY LAWS, MATTOON. Or not.
(Note: Star Tribune file photo, for illustrative bull riding purposes, is not from the bar, but rather from the Country Splash in Somerset).
