On the morning of May 27, the news of security finding a chicken in the batting cages was rapidly spreading like wildfire through the hallways of McLean. Rumors about the chicken and its purpose are still being speculated even now.
So what is the truth behind Marley McChicken?
Senior Mark Bauer and junior Nick Bemo, the people behind the McChicken Scandal were interviewed in order to find the true story.
Bauer bought and transported the chicken, and he was eager to clear the air about the fact that this was not a senior prank.
“The inspiration was I was sitting at the lunch table with the guys and we were talking about what I should buy with my first paycheck,” Bauer said. “We got really into it and I was like, ‘I want to buy a chicken!’ Everyone else was like ‘that’s stupid,’ but Nick Bemo backed me up on it, so he gave me the money if I made the drive.”
Bauer and Bemo located a person in Maryland selling chickens for $10 each.
“When I got there, it was a nice Indian family that just had a bunch of chickens and let us take the one we wanted,” Bauer said. “I kept it at my place the first night and it pooped all over the floor, so I took it to school where Nick was supposed to put it in his car to take home but he didn’t have his car. We didn’t want to keep it in the box, so we tried putting it in the dugout and then we put it in the batting cages to let it run around a bit. I think that once people started posting pictures of the chicken, word spread and reached security.”
McLean’s security team was less excited about the chicken’s presence.
“Officer Sekely came out and said that animal control was called unless one of us took it home, so Nick Bemo ended up taking Marley home,” Bauer said. “A bunch of people thought the chicken was funny. The original plan was to put it in the courtyard just to have the feeling of a farm instead of a garden but security found Marley before we could bring her in. I wouldn’t say it was the senior prank because it wasn’t big enough. I would have bought like 15 chickens or a goat if it was the senior prank.
The chicken has since found a new home with teacher Cara Mosley.
“Mrs. Mo has been taking care of Marley the McChicken on her farm ever since and is doing great in her new home,” Bauer said.
