PETA Reacts To Manu's Bat Act

By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on Nov 3, 2009 4:40PM

Okay, we know it's not Chicago-related, but we got a few emails and tweets about the video we posted yesterday (and was seen all over TV and the web) of San Antonio Spurs player Manu Ginobili swatting down a bat out of mid-air (yes, he received rabies shots later). We also noted we hadn't hear PETA's reaction. Until now. A PETA rep emailed us this morning with the organization's official statement on the matter:

Yes, it takes either a small man to bludgeon a 4-ounce animal to death or a totally unthinking one with no respect or consideration for lives humbler than his own. This is the time when athletes particularly need to be on their best behavior around any animal and show that they have brains and a heart, not just reactionary brawn.

Of course, it turns' out the bat didn't die, flying away and preventing it from being tested for rabies, which led to Ginobili getting shots. A PETA spokeswoman told us, "We will stand by our original statement until we hear a credible report stating that the bat flew away, as it is hard to imagine that the bat survived—even if he managed to fly away for a moment after what he went through."