Long after the Seahawks had hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, one Brooklyn man – a 30-year-old independent journalist who described himself as a 9/11 truther – stole the stage from Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith. For the most past, the league’s largest spectacle had passed without any serious gaffes, but Matthew Mills, who snuck into MetLife Stadium without a ticket or a media credential, likely won’t (and shouldn't) sit well with NFL officials and the New Jersey State Police.
Mills crashed Smith’s postgame interview and interjected his opinion on 9/11. What he said is largely irrelevant. But the fact that he was able to breach the Super Bowl’s numerous layers of security marks a scary proposition for the NFL, which prided itself on locking down MetLife Stadium. (Security was so tight that there were even several snipers on hand).
Here's the incident.
Prior to the game, Mills “hopped on an employee bus at Secaucus Junction,” wearing a bogus credential, per NJ.com. He then rushed past numerous security officials, claiming he was late to the game.
“I just said I was running late for work, and I had to get in there,” Mills said. “It was that simple.”
“I didn’t think I’d get that far. I just kept getting closer and closer. Once I got past the final gate and into the stadium, I was dumbfounded,” he added.
Mills was eventually arrested, but what to make of the apparent ease with which he snuck past stadium security?
The NFL has referred all questions to the NJ State Police, the central agency tasked with securing the stadium.
