Fans who have thrown drinks at games have been dealt with harshly

The NFL still hasn’t said what it will do about Panthers owner David Tepper, who threw a drink onto fans outside his suite at EverBank Stadium on Sunday. However, NFL teams have not taken kindly in the past to fans throwing drinks onto players.

In 2018, a Patriot fan who threw a beer at Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill was banned for life from Gillette Stadium. The fan also was charged with disorderly conduct.

The following year, a Browns fan was indefinitely banished from FirstEnergy Stadium for throwing a beer on Titans defensive back Logan Ryan.

“This individual person’s action is not tolerated in our building as it is not reflective of our fan base or city,” the team said in a statement. “We are currently addressing the situation internally, along with NFL Security, and we believe we have identified the person involved. He will ultimately face an indefinite ban from FirstEnergy Stadium for the unacceptable behavior, which is in clear violation for our Fan Code of Conduct.”

Every team has a Fan Code of Conduct. Carolina’s specifically prohibits “throwing objects.” It generally frowns upon “behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal in nature.” This game happened in Jacksonville; the Jaguars have a similar if not identical code.

Given the strongly-worded public statement the Browns issued after a fan threw a beer on a player, we asked the Jaguars if they have a comment on Tepper throwing a drink on their paying customers.

Jaguars P.R. said the team does not have a comment.

Hopefully, the NFL will have a comment soon. The league likes to say playing in the NFL is a privilege, not a right. Ownership should be the same kind of privilege. And if owners are going to engage in the same kind of behavior that would get a fan banned for life from a given venue, there needs to be something more serious than a fine that would be the multi-billionaire’s equivalent of a parking ticket.

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/fans-thrown-drinks-games-dealt-004213120.html

Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-01-02 00:42:13

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