Calling harassment of female fans at the now infamous Gate D spiral "outrageous" and "unacceptable," the Jets are demanding that Giants Stadium security put an end to what has become an unruly halftime tradition.The Jets were responding to a New York Times story detailing the antics during halftime at their games this season in which fans reportedly line the circular Gate D ramp, shouting at passing women to expose their breasts.
Both Jets officials and fans said they were stunned to learn of the behavior. Some fans said they were even more shocked that they had been in the dark about it until Tuesday.
"I've never even heard it mentioned," said Joseph Catalano, a season ticket holder from Manhasset. "If that story never appeared, never in a million years would I have known that this happens."
Said Bob Muhlenforth of Ronkonkoma, another season ticket holder: "The thing that surprised me most is that I never heard about it."
The Times reported the halftime rowdiness Tuesday. Hundreds of fans reportedly line the circular ramp at Gate D that leads from the ground to the upper levels of the stadium to harass women with chants and shout at them to flash their breasts. Some do and, according to the report, the ones who don't are sometimes pelted with beer bottles and even spit on.
The New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority is in charge of security at Jets and Giants games. Calls to the authority and to the Meadowlands were not returned Tuesday.
Matt Higgins, the Jets senior vice president of business operations, released a statement saying authority officials have told the team they will fix the problem.
"We have spoken with NJSEA officials and demanded that they take steps immediately to ensure that it does not happen again," the statement said. "The NJSEA, the operator of the facility, has assured us that they will address this conduct at all Meadowlands events. We will not allow a small minority of people to ruin the experience for our fans and will be monitoring the situation."
Higgins also said that the Jets were unaware of the behavior.
The story said that close to 10 security guards were standing in the area watching the event Sunday, and one of the guards said they were not permitted to do anything to stop the abuse because of free speech laws.
"The problem is, you got to watch four or five hundred people sometimes in one particular spiral," Patrick C. Aramini, the NJSEA's vice president for security, parking and traffic for the Meadowlands Sports Complex, told the Times. "What do we do, arrest everybody that starts chanting?"
Rowdiness at sporting events is nothing new, but some say the attitude of fans who attend Jets games has changed in recent years. Michael Stallone, a season-ticket holder, said the demographic and focus of the crowd has shifted.
"It's definitely a younger crowd, a rowdier crowd, with people who don't give a damn about the game," Stallone said. "They're there more for an event than to support the team. They're there just to have a good time, have a few beers, and cause mischief."
Article Courtesy of Newsday
Based on this article
Posted by Pat Morgan (Should I include free shows in my future Ebay listings?)
No comments:
Post a Comment