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Crossing the Line
 In
the past two years, there have been two major incidents involving fan violence
at baseball stadiums. In April 2003, umpire Laz Diaz was attacked by a fan who
came out of the stands at Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field. In 2002, there was
a much uglier incident at the same stadium when two hooligans jumped out of
their seats and attacked Kansas City Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa during
the game.
These two unprovoked attacks by fans have sparked concern around the country
about stadium security. Instances of onfield attacks by fans have been rare
over the years, but athletes — and now coaches — are worried for their safety
as fans get more brazen.
After the incidents in Chicago, Major League Baseball Director of Security
Kevin Hallinan met with White Sox security and operations officials and reviewed
how the assaults were handled. The 26-year law enforcement and antiterrorism
veteran said it will prompt the enhancement of security near the field (see
our interview with Hallinan click here).“We’re going
to review all our procedures in and around the dugouts and bullpens,” Hallinan
said after the incident. “We need to go back to the drawing board because of
what appears to be happening in the late stages of the game with fans moving
to those areas. We want to make sure we are addressing that problem.”
 The National Collegiate
Athletic Association has been tackling the issue this year with its Sportsmanship
and Fan Behavior Summit, which involved nearly 150 representatives from intercollegiate
athletics, higher education, community organizations and law enforcement officials.
The results of that February meeting were released this fall in a report and
video available at www.ncaa.org/sportsmanship.
While the collegiate world, according to the report, is looking primarily at
what it can do to change the environment that leads to fan violence, the state
of California is attempting to address the problem through legislation. The
governor of California Oct. 10 signed a bill passed by the state assembly earlier
this summer making it a crime for fans to enter a playing field or court without
permission or to throw objects on the field with the intent to interfere with
play. Infractions are punishable by a fine up to $250.
While many states also may choose legal remedies (outlawing alcohol at events,
for example), it is incumbent on the facilities to rethink their security strategies
— not only for threats from terrorists but also from overzealous fans.
There is an implied barrier at the stadium, with players on one side of the
fence and fans on the other. Now, there is little to keep fans from crossing
that line, as the violent punks in Chicago revealed.
Khali Henderson
Group Editor
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