Their defense is also lousy off the field.
A gridiron ghoul has been raiding the locker room of a White Plains arena-football venue during games, swiping thousands of dollars from players and cheerleaders — and forcing the stoppage of a weekend game, cops and a victim said Monday.
Trailing the Carolina Cobras 46-0 at halftime, the New York Streets were mercifully forced to suspend their Sunday-night tilt after the Cobras discovered during intermission that their visitors’ locker room at the Westchester County Center had been ransacked, according to police.
Approximately $3,000 in cash and a ring were reported stolen to cops, as the second half of the National Arena League game — the Streets’ season finale — was canceled and the price of admission refunded to those in the 5,000-seat venue.
It’s not the only off-field takeaway that Westchester police are investigating.
In a July 5 locker-room looting, an intruder swiped $1,000 from the then-captain of the Streets’ dance team, a sum the woman had borrowed to put down a deposit for a wedding band.
“It is money that was borrowed and now I owe someone back for that,” said the 25-year-old bride-to-be, who gave her name as Maggie. “I feel angry and victimized.”
Maggie, who added that another dancer had $50 stolen from her in the same theft, sat out Sunday’s season finale.
While Westchester police would say only that they have identified a person of interest in the heists after a review of surveillance footage, Maggie said that the video shows a woman wearing a New York Streets identification badge entering a locker room.
The home team is responsible for ensuring security at all games under the fledgling league’s contract with the county, authorities said.
“As long as there’s justice, I’ll have peace of mind,” said Maggie.
The Streets deferred questions about the investigation to local cops, but issued a mea culpa to the Cobras and the team’s supporters.
“The Streets sincerely apologize to the Cobras organization — including their players, coaches, ownership — and the fans of the Streets and the National Arena League,” said spokesman Adam Freifeld.
The incidents marked a rough ending to the Streets’ inaugural season. They finished with a 3-10 record, leaving them in fifth place in the six-team league, which was founded in 2016.