For about 24 hours last week, the most wanted man in Toronto was a “beer tosser.”

If you missed it, the Blue Jays wild card game against the Orioles was interrupted in the 7th inning when a beer can flew from the stands and nearly hit outfielder Hyun Soo Kim.

Police issued a photo of the alleged culprit, and an online manhunt ensued (the Toronto Sun even issued a $1,000 reward) for the “loon ball,” as mayor John Tory called him. A 41-year-old man named Ken Pagan has since been identified.

According to the Toronto Star, Pagan is a copy editor at Postmedia, and “an award-winning journalist.” The question is, should Postmedia fire Pagan for his very public (alleged) act of stupidity?

Blurred lines

As we wrote about the FHRITP guy last year, the lines between public and private, and more importantly, professional and personal, have blurred considerably. Everyone is now a cameraman and a broadcaster, and even the most trivial things can go viral. Pagan has already being tried in the court of public opinion. But does Postmedia want to be associated with someone that throws beer cans at unsuspecting Korean baseball players?

In the days of instant Internet memes, when any little thing can turn into an online backlash, companies are extra sensitive about their brand and image. Consider the case of Billy Bush, who made the mistake of engaging in “locker room talk” with Donald Trump about a decade ago. Bush has been suspended by the Today show, and it’s believed an announcement about his firing is imminent.

Whether or not you think this is fair, we need to remember that even when we’re off the clock, we’re still representing our companies. If something goes wrong and you end up in the news (or worse, on Reddit), you will drag your company into it.

Based on this, Ken Pagan should and probably will be fired.

On the other hand

Can you really fire someone for something they’re only alleged to have done? Sure, if you squint hard enough you can kind of make out something, but the fact is, there is no clear cut proof that Ken Pagan threw a beer can on the field.

“I was drinking out of a cup,” Pagan told the press, pointing out that in Twitter photos he had a cup in his hand – even after the can was tossed. “I’d love to tell you what happened and my story … but I can’t say anything,” he said.

For the sake of argument, though, let’s just say that he did throw it.

Was it stupid and dangerous? Yes. Should he face criminal charges and fines? Yes. Does he deserve to have his life destroyed for it? Not sure. Already the media attention has ensured that his name is forever tainted, especially with potential employers – and this is even before he goes to court.

Given that, should Postmedia fire someone that is presumably good at their job, for something they (possibly) did in public?

“No, they shouldn’t,” says Shawn D’souza, Talent Acquisition Manager at Workopolis. “I could maybe understand if his job involved working with children, or something similar. In that scenario, I could see why his employer might take issue with drunken and violent conduct out of the workplace, but otherwise, if he’s doing his job well, his personal life is his business.”

So what should an employer do?

“They should remind their employee of workplace etiquette, and what is tolerated in the office. Then have them sign something to show that they’ve read and understood the policy,” D’souza says.

So, what have we learned?

Legally, there’s no real justification for a company to fire someone for something done in public. It might, in fact, open the door for potential wrongful dismissal suits. That said, the threat of an online backlash is very real, and companies will go to great lengths these days to avoid being the object of an internet witch hunt.

Circling back to the (alleged) Blue Jays beer tosser, Ken Pagan has been charged with mischief and banned from ever attending games at the Rogers Centre. He has also been prohibited from consuming alcohol – anywhere – and widely condemned (even the Blue Jays issued a statement). If Postmedia has not acted yet in the face of public pressure, it’s unlikely it will.

Then again, the company might just be waiting for Pagan to appear at Old City Hall court on November 24th.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE:

It seems Postmedia is not going to wait until November 24th. It was announced today that the beer-throwing suspect is no longer at the company.