Oregon State basketball team plane delayed by rogue scorpion
An airplane carrying the Oregon State men's basketball team and the University of Portland women's basketball team was forced to return to its gate after a scorpion stung a passenger according toThe Oregonian.
Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle was seated two rows behind the female passenger who was stung. Tinkle was said to be helping assist the woman, according toThe Oregonian's Tyson Alger.
"The woman was a real champ. She acted like it was a mosquito bite. They got it off her but the needle was stuck," Tinkle told ESPN.
Harrowing eyewitness reports -- media members were on the plane along with the two teams, as well -- noted that the scorpion made its first public appearance on the shoulder of an unsuspecting male passenger. In a panic, that man flicked the creature off of his shoulder, sending it in to the row behind him.
The scorpion at that point stung a female passenger who required medical assistance. Paramedics were brought on board the plane.
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The scorpion is thought to have made it on board via the luggage of a passenger who had recently flown in from Mexico. Alaska Airlines, the airline operating the plane and one of the largest carriers to Mexico, confirmed the plane had flown in from Los Cabos in Mexico, according to ESPN.
All in all, it was a rough night for Oregon State. The medical emergency followed a 68-55 loss Saturday to USC.
- Will Green
