Kansas City, Mo. ? A Missouri man who grew up in the Kansas City area and became a Kansas University basketball fan thought someday the T-shirt and shorts he wore for every game during the Jayhawks’ 2008 national championship season were destined for his man cave, not the police evidence room.
That might still happen, but the clothes may not be in the best shape after a naked man barged into Jason Chambers’ former home last week and put them on.
The Kansas City Star reports that a 45-year-old man bolted into Chambers’ Springfield, Mo., home after a university security guard spotted him walking through a neighborhood near Drury University. Chambers, who was in the process of moving out of the home, had left the clothes for a later trip so they wouldn’t get damaged in the move.
Instead, the intruder put them on and hid in the house’s attic until officers sent a police dog up after him. The resulting encounter left the outfit somewhat tattered.
“I didn’t have a whole lot left in the house,” said Chambers, 23, who graduated from Missouri State University last May. “He could have trashed the couch, whatever, but of course he had to put on my KU stuff.”
The intruder has been charged with second-degree burglary and second-degree sexual misconduct.
Chambers grew up as a Jayhawk fan after his older brother declared their home a “Kansas house.” At first he thought the story about the naked man was a joke, but when he found out it was real, he posted on his Facebook page that “A naked hobo destroyed my National Championship outfit.”
Chambers said he’d like to have the clothing returned after the legal case runs its course and the items no longer are held as evidence.
In the meantime, the Kansas athletic department decided to “show some love” for a Jayhawks fan in the heart of Mizzou country by mailing him a package last week.
Associate KU athletics director Jim Marchiony, who reached out to Chambers after reading the initial report in the Springfield News-Leader, declined to say what was in the package but said it was sent after getting Chambers’ sizes.
“He hung the clothes on the wall as a memento — you just got to love that, love that spirit,” Marchiony said. “We thought that for a rabid KU fan in the state of Missouri, we needed to show some love for him.”
Chambers, who has moved back to the Kansas City suburb of Pleasant Hill, called the school’s gesture “awesome” and said he was eager to get the package. Still, he’s bummed out about the plight of his lucky outfit.
“I wanted it to be in my man cave when I’m an adult, on my wall forever,” he said. “We’ll see what kind of shape it’s in when we get it back from evidence. As long as it’s not too nasty, I kind of want it back.”