There’s a small portion of the population who use public events as an excuse to drink to excess and cause a disturbance, ruining the event for at least some others.
Examples include the jerk who dumped a beer on a Baltimore Orioles player during the American League wild card game against the Blue Jays, and the Colwood man who was arrested for throwing coffee in the face of a Vancouver Island Raiders player at a Westshore Rebels football game.
Reports indicate the man in Toronto has been fired from his job with Post Media, but the 22-year-old West Shore resident will have to wait until the end of December to learn his fate, as he is scheduled to appear on a charge of assault. The consequences of a guilty verdict could be far-reaching, including limitations on the ability to travel and future employment, not to mention the stigma that could follow him around for years.
West Shore RCMP say he was egged on after a bet with friends. They may have been just as inebriated, but unfortunately, they won’t pay for the group’s collective stupidity.
Fans who lay down hard-earned cash to go to sporting and entertainment events, often with young children, want no part of their experience marred in such an abhorrent manner. Fortunately these types of incidents are few and far between. Nonetheless, many parents are hesitant to expose their kids to the foul language and bad behaviour that is much more prevalent.
There is a responsibility on the part of those hosting such events to do their best to ensure incidents like that don’t take place. Perhaps implementing a two-beverage limit is a step worth considering as is making it clear that boorish activity will not be tolerated.
But in the end, there’s only so much you can do to prevent those bent on making fools of themselves from raising that bar to new levels. The one thing we can do collectively is immediately report any behaviour that looks like it may get out of hand, and discreetly demand action from those in charge.
If fellow fans show their intolerance early for drunken misbehaviour, ugly incidents like the one at the football game might be avoided.