Where is The Line Between Being a Fan and Being Offensive?

In the past several months there have been several incidents involving professional athletes and fans. The most recent NFL incident was Quinton Jefferson of the Seahawks, who went after a fan for throwing a bottle at him and yelling obscenities about his mother. Then, there was Adam Jones who had an altercation with a Boston fan who was yelling racial slurs at him. Recently, we have seen the incidents with Russel Westbrook who threatened a Utah Jazz fan and his girlfriend after the fan made racist and homophobic comments to him.

After having read several comments on these stories it is clear that some people blame the athletes for letting the words of fans get under their skin and reacting. Many fans posted comments saying that they feel that as a fan who is paying to support their team they are going to do everything they can to get into a player’s head and disrupt their game. The most common theme among these fans was the idea that “That’s just part of the game. These guys are professionals and my ticket is what pays their million dollar salary, they should be able to handle it.”

Well. I disagree whole-heartedly and emphatically!

Buying a ticket to a ball game does not give any person the right to start yelling obscene things at players. It is not as if, they are no longer human beings because they are on the opposing team.

Could you imagine if one of these fans were to say something like what they yell at players if they ran into each other at the mall? No, because it would not happen. People seem to be able to recognize right and wrong in that situation but clearly think that those morals change once they step into an arena.

This issue is not new to athletes though. In high school and collegiate arenas across the country, there are fans and students who are researching opposing players to see what ammunition they can find for the verbal attacks that they are planning to make on athletes.

Fans have been allowed to get away with far too much for far too long. This is why I believe that this should be monitored much more closely, and it should start at the professional level. Organizations should have zero tolerance for this type of behavior and hold people accountable for their actions.

As a fan myself, I am all for talking trash within the context of the game but, when fans start getting personal and talking about an athlete’s family, race or religion that is crossing the line. As a fan who has witnessed it, I am as guilty as the people who didn’t say anything in the previously mentioned incidents.

Going forward though, if you are in my section and getting out of hand I promise that I won’t hesitate to report you through a text service or call you out verbally and take a stand for what is right. I hope that others will recognize this problem and commit now, to be a part of the solution.