At the Sacramento BFTS event, Kasey Hayes was an unhappy camper after Katich’s Blind Date dumped him before the whistle. Hayes threw his face mask (not a helmet with a face mask) at his opponent. This unsportmanslike conduct cost Hayes $7,500, a public apology and time in detention (aka anger management classes).

Countless PBR riders have thrown fits after getting bucked off. The reason this event warranted disciplinary action was because Hayes directed his anger at the bull—something the PBR does not tolerate.

“I don’t care how mad you get or if they don’t go in the right chute or if they go in this alley the right way, nobody has the right to act in any malicious way toward those bulls, and I feel that 110 percent,” said PBR founder and TV commentator Michael Gaffney. “That’s my comment about that. Throwing a bull rope down on the ground, or hitting the fence and breaking your hand like Adriano (Moraes) did has nothing to do with punishing the bull. We take great pride in our animals.”

Fellow retired PBR star Ty Murray compared what Hayes did to someone spitting on an opponent. Added Murray, “Throwing his facemask like that didn’t hurt the bull, but the gesture was horrible and the mask could have hit him in the eye or who knows where. That’s about as unsportsmanlike conduct as you’re going to get.”

Hayes made a public apology during the televised BFTS event in Dallas.

Blind Dates’s owner Steve Katich harbors no ill will toward Hayes. “There’s a big difference between someone who’s 20 or 21 and me, who’s 60, and been in the business for 40 years,” said Katich. “I don’t disrespect Kasey. I disrespect the lack of judgment that he showed.”

Katich thought Hayes’ punishment was fair. “That’s justifiable,” Katich said. “I wanted something done and, like I say, you ain’t going to hurt that 2,000-pound bull, but the point is the lack of professionalism.”