Sports Fans Need To Be Held Accountable Too
In professional sports an athlete has to be cool against sometimes rabid fans, but when he or she loses his or her cool they have to pay. Why not the fan too?
In the latest chapter of an athlete losing his cool against a fan, Chicago Bull center Joakim Noah yelled a gay slur at a fan who was yelling at him in their game 3 playoff against the Miami Heat. Now let me be clear, there is no excuse for him to be yelling that slur at anyone and he deserves to pay his fine, however the fan should also be held accountable for his actions as well.
As fans we think we are owed something by athletes and sports organizations for paying for merchandise and going to games, but does that give us the right to be rude? These guys deserve some respect too. They are out there working so hard, and in the case of Noah, his team was on the losing end so he was already frustrated. He was slapped with a $50,000 fine for yelling at the guy. I think that the guy who yelled at Noah should also be punished. Maybe kick him out or ban him from the next few games, but he is as equally responsible as Noah.
This sort of thing happens all to often. Basketball seems to be where it happens the most since fans are so close to the players. I think we need to eliminate the floor seats at NBA games so we can avoid this. There is a certain conduct that as fans we need to follow, and yelling at the players is not one of them. Same goes for the officials too. They are only human and can only be pushed so far. Case in point, 2008 Jets and Seahawks. The New York Jets are running into the locker room tunnel and the Seattle fans are pelting them with snowballs. So what does big Shaun Ellis of the Jets do? Picks up a snowball and fires back. So what if his happens to be much larger. What gives these fans the right to do that?
I just don't get the concept of the fans thinking that we are owed something just for being a fan. No one says you have to be a fan. Could you imagine someone yelling "You Suck!" while you were at your job? You would flip out too once you heard it enough. So I just ask as fans that if we don't want to be yelled at by athletes, don't yell at them! Sure you can be disappointed, but seriously, picking a battle with them is just stupid. So go and enjoy a game or two or 100, but keep your cool and just enjoy your surroundings.