Rob Gronkowski says he knew Yankees fan in bizarre World Series moment: 'Congratulations for shining'
"That guy right there grabbing Mookie Betts' glove was my friend in college," Gronkowski said. "He was on the ice hockey team – the club Arizona Wildcats team. The whole hockey team, they were absolute maniacs. They were undescribable (sic) just how wild these guys ... animals.
"Him doing that represents him very well. I mean he is all in for his teams. He is all in for the Yankees. I remember him talking about the Yankees all the time, how he loves them so much. And that describes him perfectly. Just doing whatever it takes to help his team out. He is a beauty.
"I just want to say congratulations for shining when your moment came."
Gronkowski did not defend the men for what they did.
"I'm not saying it's OK. ... It is unacceptable definitely in the world of sports but when you're that big of a fan, that's what fans do whenever they have the opportunity to do that," he said.
Capobianco told ESPN he knew he would be kicked out of the game, but he opted to ignore the rules and grab Betts anyway.
"We always joke about the ball in our area," he said. "We're not going to go out of our way to attack. If it's in our area, we're going to 'D' up .
"Someone defends, someone knocks the ball. We talk about it. We're willing to do this."
The two fans are banned from attending Game 5 at Yankee Stadium, the New York Post reported.
