Roger Goodell has to clean up the incessant, violent NFL fan fights

What are we doing?

How has it gotten to a point that when you go to an NFL game you have to really be concerned about the idea that you might be in a fight or one may break out right next to you?

Maybe this was always the case, but, like a lot of things with the advent of camera phones, we see it nearly every week on social media. Monday night’s Cowboys-Chargers game in Los Angeles was the latest, as several fights broke out. 

It has been the norm every week this season with the combatants normally looking as if they are drunk, out of shape WWE performers.

Earlier this season in New England, there were initial reports of a 53-year-old Patriots fan, who had been a season-ticket holder, dying after an altercation with opposing Dolphins fans. The Norfolk County district attorney later ruled that the traumatic blows inflicted upon Dale Mooney, the fan, did not lead to his death and, instead, identified an unspecified medical issue as the cause, according to Boston.com.

Even so, where is the outrage for not punching each other at sporting events?

In a survey by SportsBook Review, nearly 40 percent of NFL fans said they have been a witness to a violent crime in or around the stadium. SportsBook Review polled 3,000 fans.

Roger Goodell and the NFL need to do more. They have media contracts that are for $110 billion and extend into the 2030s. 

In that time, they should put aside some more money to solve this issue. There is a Fan Conduct Policy that can include ejection, the loss of season tickets and legal action. 

“There are rules,” Goodell said at the owners’ meeting Wednesday after receiving a contract extension. “If people aren’t going to behave in our stadiums, they aren’t going to be in our stadiums. We’ll take those steps and measures to protect our fans.”

Social media can magnify a problem and make it feel worse. It is second-hand reality, meaning that we are seeing it through a screen and, if you watch it multiple times, it makes it feel like more than it is.

There is a feeling from the NFL that the issue is not bigger than in previous years. Even if that is the case, it is still a problem.

The videos constantly show just unruly fights, featuring head butts and wild melees. These don’t even account for loudmouth fans that can just ruin an experience by sitting next to someone who just wants to root for his or her team.

The NFL may be the most successful sports business in the world. It has gotten there because of its product, but also because everything is done for the bottom line. 

This is just business. It is time to clean up what goes on in the stands.

Quick clicks

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