Tampa Bay Handcuffs And Ejects You For Rooting For The Opposing Football Team
Steve flew down to Tampa to watch his Raiders play the Buccaneers. After cheering for the away team, he was handcuffed, detained, frisked, and ejected with no explanation. He'd like one.
Our tipster sent the following letter to the NFL, Buccaneers, and Tampa Sports Authority:
Good afternoon,I apologize for the number of individuals included on this communication as I was unsure who to contact about this.
I had a very negative experience at Raymond James Stadium while attempting to attend the Buccaneers/Raider NFL football game. My day started poorly as I was forced to go to three different entrance gates because I was "wearing the wrong colors" before I could obtain admittance with my ticket to the game.
The game went without incident up until the first score of the game by the Raiders. I stood in celebration, and before the extra point was even kicked, I was being led away by stadium personnel. Once out of the stands, I was placed in handcuffs, although I was not resisting the stadium personnel's requests, or read my rights and placed under arrest. I was lead to a single person holding cell where my possessions were removed, and I was subjected to a full body frisking. After being detained for roughly 30 minutes, I was released outside of the stadium, and informed that I could not return to the stadium.
As a long time fan and supporter of the NFL, I am greatly disappointed by my treatment at today's game. I feel like I was personally singled out due to my team affiliation, and this was totally unwarranted. I was not intoxicated or found to be in possession of any illegal substances. I was not being verbally or physically abusive to any other fans or players. There were no requests to adjust my behavior prior to this either, which was not causing an issue as multiple witnesses can attest to.
I understand the stadium has the right to remove any attendees as stated on the ticket, but my treatment today was completely unacceptable. I came down to Tampa Bay from New Jersey specifically to see this game, and then was stripped of the ability to enjoy the game. I would like to know if there are any options by which I may file a formal complaint against the personnel at the stadium? I wish I could provide you with more information as to the individuals involved, but they would not provide me with that information prior to my removal.
Any assistance in this matter would be appreciated. Thank you and I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday.
Steve has promised to send along a picture of himself getting along just fine with the Bucs fans near him, and considering he wrote a polite, coherent complaint letter only a couple hours after the game ended, we're inclined to believe him when says he wasn't drunk or abusive. We hope Tampa is able to make it up to him, perhaps by paying for his tickets, and maybe his travel expenses.
(Photo: Getty)
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Comments:
YOU'RE 'OUTTA HERE!
Seriously though, what a douchebag move. You don't like our team, so you don't belong here! The American way.
fuck that. sue for 252 million like that nascar chick. this guy was treated worse. shit all over tampa
this is actually pretty hilarious. i feel bad for the guy since he came all the way down from NJ, but getting kicked out because you're supporting the wrong team is funny. i've never had an issue with supporting the away team, aside from some old guy calling me a Carpetbagger, which made absolutely no sense because i was supporting a Southern team at a DC stadium.
I agree that the letter seems coherent and polite but... opposing fans are at other stadiums all the time. I've visited Soldier Field to root for the Packers before and there was tons of good natured and not so good natured exchanges.
While it does seem unlikely that he was doing something terribly out of bounds, I feel like something has to be missing here.
It will be interesting to see how or if this issue is resolved. The NFL has some 'splaing' to do.
this is insane
i'd contact the team and the NFL
being a Raiders fan is enough for probable cause
There is no way this dude was the only one in the ENTIRE stadium rooting for the away team. Why was he singled out? This is just deeply bizarre. I can't think of any logic that would lead them to pull him away like that.
@gamehendge2000: *snort* agreed.
In all seriousness, I have an inkling that there is a lot we're not hearing about here. I have a tough time believing he got ejected for wearing the wrong colors. Anything's possible, but I'd like to hear the other side. Surely there are extant surveillance tapes or other documentation at Tampa Bay's disposal regarding this incident.
If he was a Cowboys fan at an Eagles game, he'd have been lucky to leave uninjured.
...what?
(I'm actually sympathetic to the guy, but there are some things you just don't do. You don't wear a Cowgirls jersey to an Eagles game unless you are a fan of pain and bleeding, and you don't tug on Superman's cape.)
I'm calling shenanigans. There has to be a missing piece of the puzzle here. I live in Tampa and have been going to Bucs games for over 15 years now. A couple times a season to root for the Packers. I would say at most any Bucs game a third (my estimate) of the fans at a minimum are there to root for the opposing team and I have NEVER seen or even heard of one of them being thrown out simply for rooting for the opposing team. Shenanigans. I'll say it again: Shenanigans.
I actually know Steve and am very close with him. My immediate reaction to finding all this out earlier in the day, was that he was being an drunken idiot. But I know for a fact he wasn't, and even if he was being loud or obnoxious, it doesn't warrant a full body frisk.
@Youthier: Bravo! The first "blame the victim" post in this thread. Jeez, why did Consumerist even bother to post those FAQs and guidelines?
@Ray Cornwall: He's not complaining about pain and bleeding, though. He's complaining about an official action. They don't get to do that, regardless of whether or not he's transgressed some unwritten rule of fandom, because they have to obey the official, written, legal rules.
@NovaloadMissesPolar: I wasn't blaming the OP. I specifically said that it was unlikely that he did something terribly out of bounds, signally that I thought the Bucs security more than likely overreacted.
I just think he omitted some of the details in his letter. Did he really allow himself to be arrested and kicked out of the stadium without once asking "What did I do?"
@Juliekins: I am akin to agree with you. I am thinking of the case of soda under the shopping cart story in particular.
As a NJ native, I can tell you that I and some of my other compatriots here can be psycho one instant, and perfectly sane the next. I wonder if this wasn't done for his own good. I.E. someone said, if this guy doesn't stop, he's going to get his ass kicked by some other fan. I notice the wording is very specific. I was not intoxicated or found to be in possession of illegal narcotics. Not "I wasn't drinking" and "I wasn't high". Also, I was not being verbally or physically abusive to any other fans or players. No mention if he was shouting or cursing, just that it wasn't at people at the stadium or players. He could have said he had fornicated with the matriarch of someone there, which is not a fan there, but their mother. I can't wait to hear more/the other side.
Well, after today's game, Tampa's front office will have plenty of time to carefully compose their apology letter. Thanks, unfairly treated Raiders supporter, for providing the necessary karmic catalyst!
/eagles fan
I'd be suing. If the people who handcuffed you weren't police you're probably looking at unlawful detainment and false imprisonment among other things. However, IANAL.
@hmbddd:
I went to Tampa to root for th Eagles at a game, wearing a McNabb jersey and the fans around me treated me just fine.
Strangely, the only stadium I've ever encountered problems with fans was at an AZ Cardinals game. I never thought I'd be heckled by their loser fans!
@Eldritch: Different people in charge of different sections of the stadium. Maybe the person in charge didn't get any from the wife, who also happens to be a Raiders fan, last night and was kinda upset about it.
That's insane! I was at the Colts game and there were lots of Tennessee fans, but none of them got ejected. This is really weird. Were there any other Raiders fans there that stayed in?
@NovaloadMissesPolar: Blaming the victim would have been "you deserve it for attending an NFL game." This is healthy skepticism. As far as I know, there is no Consumerist guideline requiring us to uncritically swallow whatever is placed before us, even if it seems suspicious.
I second Youthier; I've never been to a sporting event where there wasn't somebody rooting against the home team.
Something just doesn't seem right about what he is saying, something from his story is missing. Out of all the people at the game only this guy was singled out, why? The nail that sticks out gets hammered, and I doubt he got hammered for being a polite, respectful, articulate citizen just out to enjoy a game.
@Ray Cornwall: With respect, that's the exact reason why I stay far far away from any NFL game. I've heard of too many people getting beat up or, worse, killed because of who they were supporting. I quite literally fear for my life when I'm near an NFL game.
I just don't get it... what ever happened to good sportsmanship and showing respect for others? It's a game, for goodness sakes! Can't there be respect and compassion for the love of the game, instead of devolving things into a violent civil war? (Note: I'm not against team spirit or cheering along... I'm against having that devolve into violence.)
All that said, (back on topic...) assuming all is disclosed in the original post, throwing someone out because they aren't supporting the right team is downright immature. I think the fair thing for them to do would be to refund the guy for his ticket if he wasn't causing a ruckus.
This story doesn't seem convincing. He honestly was just being a happy-go-lucky, sober, fan? I've been to a lot of football games and seen a lot of idiots who don't get kicked out. Due to its location, Tampa gets a lot of fans from other teams at their games. I can't fathom they are simply removing innocent, well-behaved fans for no reason. At least I hope not.
@Possinator: Can you explain under what circumstances the way he was treated would be considered acceptable?
It just sounds crazy! I can't wait for the follow-up on this. I think the whole thing sounds messed up right from the start - since when can gate agents refuse you (a ticketholder) entry at a particular gate because you're "wearing the wrong colors?"
Either there's more to this story, or this guy has the best basis for a harassment suit against the team, the stadium, and the NFL that I've ever heard of!
Something similar happened at Yankee Stadium a few months ago. At Yankee Stadium, during the playing of the national anthem before the start of the game and the moment of silence for the victims of 9/11 and the playing of "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch, the ushers extend chains across the pathways in the stands to discourage people from moving around during those times and thereby exhibiting disrespect. At one game, an atheist Red Sox fan (I don't recall if he was wearing any Red Sox clothing) got up to go to the restroom during "God Bless America" and was stopped by a couple of NYPD officers. (NYPD officers work at Yankee Stadium during games as paid security guards, not on official duty, though I'm sure they still have to follow NYPD policies while doing so.) The fan said something like, "I don't care about 'God Bless America,' I have to use the restroom," prompting the NYPD officers to eject him from the stadium.
The Yankees said that the chains are merely meant to suggest that fans stay at their seats during those times and that the ushers will allow any fan who wishes to move around to do so, implying that the NYPD officers who ejected the atheist acted on their own initiative. Whatever, the possiblilty of having a run-in with rogue cops is enough to dissuade me from attending a Yankee home game again.
While tail-gating for the Steelers/Browns game wearing a Kellen Winslow Jr jersey, a Steeler's fan tried to piss on me. After witnessing the game... i figured its just his way of tough love.
While tail-gating for the Steelers/Browns game wearing a Kellen Winslow Jr jersey, a Steeler's fan tried to piss on me. After witnessing the game... i figured its just his way of tough love.
You need to send this letter to Roger Goddell. Contact all of the ESPN radio hosts and get your story out that. This is insane.
God bless the host of the Super Bowl this year.
@Hyman Decent: the yankees ridiculous ticket prices next season are a lot more likely to keep me from their future home games.
Why on earth did he send his letter to an athletic clothing store? :)
Probably a case of mistaken identity. A lot of stadiums have that "text a complaint" policy where someone in the stands can text and say that someone is being obnoxious. It probably went something like this:
1) Some drunk guy was making a ruckus
2) A fan texted a complaint in about him
3) Drunk guy left for food or piss or something
4) Security shows up, sees guy celebrating
5) Rape.
6) ???
7) Profit
SERIOUS customer service fail. And they wonder why attendance goes down at these events. High cost and being made to feel like a criminal will do that. Honestly--it makes me think twice about shelling out money where I live to see a Steelers game. I love the Steelers, but if I could possibly lose all that money I put into a game by being in the 'wrong colors' and not sharing the opinion of the majority of the crowd on any given play...
I just hope this guy gets some satisfaction. I can understand the stadiums want to minimize the potential for arguments and violence, but at what point do you just hit 'silly' on the scale of one to insane?
@icy_one: I was thinking this too, which is why I want to get more details on this one. Was there someone acting irrationally near the OP and security just assumed it was the opposing fan? Or maybe there was some jerk that was ragging on this guy for rooting for the Raiders and decided to make up a story to secuirty.
@NovaloadMissesPolar: He certainly said that he got sent to multiple gates for it, and "wearing the wrong colors" can mean the same as rooting for the away team.
I say BS. I also say the guy may have been irate or displaying disorderly conduct at the game after the photo was taken of "himself getting along just fine with the Bucs fans near him"
@icy_one: To an extent, that makes sense, but then one has to wonder, how do they corroborate those texts, or even know they got the right person?
How was he "cheering" after the first score? If he is like a typical Raiders fan, he probably thought saying and doing what he did was par for the course.
Something's missing here.... They don't just kick you out without telling you what you did.... Sorry, missing piece here.
@Wowwee, a Zeppelin! SteveDave: I love that scene!
But anyway, I'd like to know some of the finer details of this story. It seemed like something was left out because I don't I understand how this guy would be kicked out for rooting for the other team. Either the NFL is really screwed up or Steve's actions were a little less innocent than we assume.
Spread this story far and wide to every foot ball fan, group and web site you can find! Write the papers about this too even if they are no where near Tampa. Maybe if these goons lose money over this crap they will wake up and never think about trying this stunt again.
@Groovymarlin:
Yeah really...there has to be more to the story. His story is too simple to be true. They might as well have just given him a couple million dollars right there after letting him go...because if his story is accurate, that's likely what he'll get out of them after the quick lawsuit.
wow. just wow.
I'd be suing. NFL tickets aren't cheap.