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‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek says he’s ‘not a big fan’ of the Phillie Phanatic

The 'Jeopardy!' host made the blasphemous remark during Friday night’s episode after a contestant claimed he fought the fuzzy, green-beaked popular team mascot at a minor league baseball game in Scranton.

The Phillie Phanatic is among the most beloved team mascots -- but not by all.
The Phillie Phanatic is among the most beloved team mascots -- but not by all.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

Alex Trebek is no fan of the Phillie Phanatic.

The Jeopardy! host made the blasphemous remark during Friday night’s episode after a contestant claimed he mixed it up with the popular furry, green-beaked team mascot at a minor league baseball game in Scranton.

“I’m not a big fan of the Phillie Phanatic,” Trebek said. “But the team? Yeah."

Despite saying he liked the baseball team, the Phillies made clear that they were unhappy with the game show host’s comments.

“We’ll take ‘how could you’ for $2000, Alex,” the team tweeted.

Contestant Brian Lynch, a filmmaker from Los Angeles, said the brawl started because he had his feet up on the dugout and one foot “grazed” the mascot.

“I didn’t realize that until he rolled on top of me and started elbowing me,” Lynch said. “I almost threw him off the dugout.”

Jeopardy! has a huge fan following in Philadelphia, where the game show drew a larger television audience than Game 1 of this year’s NBA Finals.