Of all the sporting news of the current MLB season and the upcoming football season, one unfortunate trend keeps stealing the headlines: violence at major sporting events.
Last night, at a pre-season NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, two men were shot multiple times after an altercation in the parking lot, and one man was beaten in the men’s restroom at Candlestick Park. All of this, just a few months after San Francisco Giants baseball fan Brian Stow was beaten at Dodgers Stadium on Opening Day. Stow remains in a coma more than four months later.
It's high time for a "time out." This unsportsmanlike conduct is uncalled for, and it is unacceptable in our civilized society.
As athletes, we ought to expect better of the game. As fans, we must behave with more decorum. Sure, we all have emotions. And those emotions ride high during sporting events and other occasions. But we’re not animals. We can keep our emotions in check. We have to check violence at the door.
What’s the solution? Public officials have suggested everything from metal detectors to a widescale ban on alcohol at stadiums. Both solutions have merit, but we can’t just treat the superficial wound. The root of the solution lies in expecting better of ourselves.
If I owned an NFL team, I would bring the League's top players, coaches and owners together immediately to record a stirring Public Service Announcement asking fans to cease the violence. It may sound silly, but fans of professional sporting teams tend to put so much stock in the words and images of professional athletes, you never know, it just might make a difference.
America, we can do better. Let's stop the violence. Let's get our heads back in the game.
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