Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez has terrorized mascots for a long time and Franklin the dog made him pay for his treacherous deeds on Thursday.
Franklin is no stranger to the actions of Lopez. The big man, then a member of the Knicks, beat the Sixers' mascot to a pulp in an epic boxing match during Franklin's first year.. Franklin wasn't amused, so he threw a cardboard cut-out of Lopez into the trash later last season.
And Franklin is far from the only mascot to see the wrong end of Lopez' massive fists. He's bullied the Pistons' Hooper many times. He left multiple mascots in his wake in Phoenix. Basically, anywhere Lopez goes, a mascot has seen his untimely demise.
Mascot fighting may even run in the family as his twin brother, Brook, has gotten in on the player-on-mascot crime series in a fight with Benny the Bull. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw6LDoBNsPY)
Some courageous mascots have stood up to the Lopez twins, turning the tables on Robin when he comes to their arenas. Perhaps the Magic's Stuff (a personal favorite in the mascot rankings) had the best effort, getting Lopez to embarass himself before a game. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi-hOI-Rf1Y)
And Franklin followed Stuff's lead with an epic performance on Thursday night. Facing down his arch nemesis, Franklin treated Lopez to what seemed like a simple game of "Simon Says." Kids stuff. But Frankling was not to be trifled with.
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Getting Lopez to look up, Franklin moved in for the kill, removing Lopez's warmup pants and avoiding retribution in one fell swoop. I applaud Franklin's effort to protect the sacred mascot fraternity from the mascot-dementor himself.
Here's the video of Franklin's impressive feat.
Simon says, got you again @rolopez42. pic.twitter.com/8Cygbh8dwo— Franklin (@SixersFranklin) April 7, 2017
