Anne Ryman

The Republic | azcentral.com

A devilish prank by Arizona State University's mascot has cost the state about $76,000 after Sparky playfully jumped on the back of a city official during a halftime ceremony last year.

The state's Risk Management Division made payments totaling $76,342 to settle a claim filed in November by Tempe Councilman David Schapira, said Megan Rose, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Administration.

The councilman had originally sought more than $120,000 in the claim: $96,146 in damages for himself and an additional $27,000 for insurance, which is funded through Tempe.

The injuries happened at a Sept.18 football game at Sun Devil Stadium. As Tempe city officials stood along the sidelines during halftime, waiting to go onto the field, they posed with the mascot for pictures.

Sparky then decided to jump up on the 6-foot-5-inch councilman's back. What the mascot didn't know: The councilman was still recovering from back surgery just two months earlier.

"I felt a pop in my lower back," Schapira wrote in his claim. "I tried to push Sparky off as my wife and others yelled to him to get off, but I needed the assistance of another council member, Joel Navarro, to get him off my back."

Schapira said he felt his back spasm. He had a partial tear of a muscle in his back. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital and spent four days there. He shared what happened in a series of photos posted on Twitter:

Sparky's prank received national attention last fall, covered by publications ranging from GQ to Newsweek.

Schapira called the incident a "terrible confluence of circumstances," in an email to The Arizona Republic.

"There's no way the young man playing Sparky could have known the damage he would cause," he said.

He added he appreciates ASU's willingness to work with him through the aftermath, and he is glad the episode is over.

"The only upside to the situation was that it was Sparky who jumped on me. If it had been Wilbur the Wildcat, I'd probably be pretty angry," Schapira said, referring to the University of Arizona's mascot.

The injury left him unable to help his wife with many family activities, he said, and prevented him from being able to lift his two young children, ages 3 and 5.

He also sought reimbursement for 10 days of missed work at the East Valley Institute of Technology.

Schapira, who is the assistant superintendent at the school, said the injury "set me back substantially on many projects, requiring many days of staying at work late to catch up, missing more time with my family."

He also had to miss work as a Tempe councilman. His claim said he is not seeking reimbursement for time missed with the city because he doesn't have a regular schedule there.

ASU issued a statement Tuesday, saying university officials regret the incident and have extended assistance to the councilman.

"We hope that he has achieved a full recovery," the statement said.

Reach the reporter at 602-444-8072 or anne.ryman@arizonarepublic.com.