Read the debate intro and Babe Ruthless’ argument that coaches should have the authority to eject fans from a sporting event.
The world of athletic competition is a world of entertainment. When you boil it down, a basketball game and the opera are exactly the same thing. Yes, they are designed to appeal to different audiences, but in the simplest of descriptions, both possess the exact same qualities. In both cases, a highly trained staff performs on a stage in front of an audience, hoping to please the crowd with their exceptional talent. For their part, the crowd (whose paid admission provides the continued funding which enables these performances) responds in kind by conveying their opinion of how the performance went. When the crowd is happy, they cheer. Likewise, when the crowd is upset, boos, jeers, and taunts should be expected.
It is immediate feedback from the customer base that informs the participants in no uncertain terms where their performance rates. If the participants wish to bask in the public glow of their successes, they must also be willing to endure public ridicule for their failures. As a public entertainer, you do not get the privilege of denying or avoiding the opinions and comments of dissent. You may not LIKE what is being said, but you cannot refuse a paying customer the right to voice their opinion.
The notion, therefore, that a coach can actually have a fan ejected from a sporting event for cheering ‘against’ their team in any way is completely ludicrous! During a sporting event, both teams have supporters present in the stands. Depending on where the event is being hosted, one team may have a greater number of supporters, but nevertheless, there are fans of both teams. Those fans are EXPECTED to voice their support for the team they love, and their dislike of the opponent. That is why fans travel to see their teams play – TO SUPPORT THEM ON THE ROAD! When things go well for those fans, it is their RIGHT to cheer (after all, they PAID to get into the event), and when things go poorly, those same fans have every right to object.
At this point I must clarify something – I am not speaking of obscenity, profanity, or threats of any kind against the participants. In the interest of public safety, and ensuring that the event takes place in a safe environment for EVERYBODY, behavior of that type is absolutely unacceptable. Fortunately, all of the venues that host performances (of ANY type) have rules which prohibit this type of behavior, and it is the responsibility of SECURITY to remove those offenders – not the coaches.
This discussion does not involve someone in the stands throwing racial epithets or threatening physical harm against a team or players. In the example of North Carolina head basketball coach Roy Williams, the fan was not endangering Williams or his team at all. Instead, he was simply heckling a UNC player who was about to shoot a free throw by shouting “Hey Deon, don’t miss it.”
Apparently, Williams did not like that his fragile, emotionally delicate athletes might hear somebody say something “negative” against them. In fact, when asked about the situation in the post-game press conference, Williams said, “I don’t think that anybody should yell anything negative at our players.” He then went on to say, “You come in on our tickets to watch our game…” implying that paying attendees at the Dean Dome are actually OBLIGATED to cheer for the Tarheels.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds about as un-American as you can get. This kind of blatant censorship reeks of the same false propaganda that Goebbels or Red China were known for… denying a voice to anyone who may contradict the establishment (okay, that may be a bit extreme, but you get my point). Williams actually sought to bar a fan who PAID for his admission into the arena to support his team, simply because that fan said something that was contrary to his own opinion.
It is unrealistic to expect that the fans of an opposing team would quietly sit during the game and not vocally support their team, simply out of respect for the hosting organization. It is also unfair to impose a penalty of ejection on any fan who chooses to support their team when that support does not violate any rules of obscenity, and does not endanger another person.
Roy Williams was completely wrong in what he did, and should be embarrassed by his extreme over-reaction. These are not lawyers selecting a jury, they are coaches who get paid to lead a group of athletes in competition, and nothing more. They do not get to choose the makeup of the crowd within the arena, nor do they get to dictate the terms of when and how that crowd can cheer. No coach has the right to deny a fan in attendance from the ability to watch the game.
