Inspirational Letter from the Mohr Family to Arredondo Family

Posted on October 18, 2014 by FAV

Three years ago, Jets fan James Mohr was viciously attacked following a Jets vs Chiefs game. Fans Against Violence immediately contacted the Mohr family to offer oursupport. Anna Mohr, James’ sister, has been a big part of FAV since that day. With every incident that occurs, the feelings they had that day come rushing back to James’ family, particularly

Anna. When Anna heard about Alex Arredondo, the Anaheim Angels fan attacked after the Angels’ playoff game against the Kansas City Royals, it really hit home with her and she immediately felt the need to reach out and offer some type of support.

The following is the inspirational letter she wrote to the Alex Arredondo and his family. Anna agreed to allow us post her letter in the hopes that it might help other victims and their families.

We would like to thank the Mohr Family and the Arredondo Family for allowing us to share this beautiful letter.

Dear Arredondo Family,

I do not know you, but we share something in common. It is something that most people are fortunate not to know or understand or experience. It is something that happens so quickly, so unexpectedly, so inexplicably, and yet it has changed our lives.

My brother was savagely beaten after a Jets/Chiefs game in December of 2011. He spent a week in the hospital, underwent hours of surgery to repair the broken bones in his face and due to the severe concussion he sustained and the bleeding on his brain, he was unable for months to do the basic daily things that come so easily to the rest of us.

I’m sure there are some things with which James struggles that he doesn’t share with me, or anyone for that matter. But I do know that now, almost three years later he still experiences headaches and visionary problems. Sometimes I wonder if the physical scars remind him of his traumatic ordeal, and I have to close my eyes and pray that no matter what he sees or feels, he knows he’s still as beautiful as he ever was and that his perseverance and strength are admirable and inspiring. I could not possibly be more proud of him.

I was, for lack of a better term, a complete mess when this happened. I was so overwhelmed with emotions it began to feel debilitating. At first, I was scared. We didn’t know the extent of his injuries and I’m the type of person who assumes the worst. When I knew he was conscious, fear turned to anger that someone could do this to another human being. As details emerged, anger turned to sadness. As witnesses recall, he responded to taunts from a group of people who targeted him for reasons that will probably forever be unknown. My best guess is because he was walking alone. He doesn’t remember what happened next. It’s believed he was hit from behind with a bottle or some other blunt object. (His injuries were consistent with this theory.) When I learned that my baby brother, who I will always look at as this adorable little boy, was left on the ground in a parking lot in the middle of a cold New York December, facedown in a pool of his own blood, I was physically ill for days. To think that someone could take someone so important to me and my family and toss him away like he was litter was such a sickening feeling, and it completely shook my faith in humanity and God.

I will not promise you that these feelings and thoughts will ever go away completely. I still have moments of sadness and rage and even guilt that I wasn’t there to protect him. But I can promise that over time, if you can find the strength to seek out a silver lining, life can in some aspects get even better. I have learned not to sweat the small stuff. I’ve come to love and appreciate family more than ever. I recognize the fragility of life and don’t take a second I spend with James for granted. I have restored my faith and can again see that for every act of evil, you can find a hundred acts of kindness. That last lesson was learned quickly, thanks to Fans Against Violence. When I would go home from the hospital at night, exhausted and upset and feeling alone, I’d have a mailbox full of messages from people I had never met, spread out all across the country, who just wanted to express their support. Sometimes something as simple as kind words can provide desperately needed comfort. I hope this letter does just that.

And to Alex, my heart breaks that you are suffering through this because of someone else’s stupidity, recklessness and complete disregard for your well-being. Please know that there are thousands and thousands of people thinking about you, praying for you, and cheering you on through your recovery. It is my great hope that one day you will be able to look back on this experience and know it made you a stronger and better man.

And finally, one day, when the pain subsides and the wounds begin to heal, I hope you can forgive. Emotional recovery is just as important, and it is hard to do when you hang on to the anger and hatred. It is not easy for me to know that the people who assaulted my brother get to carry on with their lives, never held accountable for their crimes, while the rest of us have to pick up broken pieces. I’m sure you’re experiencing immense anger right now, and you have a right to. But when I look at the big picture, I pity them. We have our families and our extended family at FAV. We have the support of so many. We still have our brothers, most importantly! It is a safe assumption that people who do things like this are missing the fundamentals that teach right from wrong, good from bad, and I find that extremely sad. So try to focus on Alex’s recovery, and celebrate what a tough and brave man he is!

If there is anything I can do to help you get through this, I hope you will reach out. Here’s to a speedy recovery, Alex! Thinking about you all the way from New York!

Best always,

Anna Mohr

Fan Against Violence Featured in Inside Tailgating Magazine

Posted on November 26, 2013 by FAV

We are very proud to announce Fans Against Violence has been chosen to be the featured article in “Inside Tailgating“magazine. We’re so grateful for their interest in our cause, and for providing the attention needed to help put an end to fan violence. Kindly pick up your copy of the Winter 2013-2014 to read the whole story, and help spread our message to fans of all sports and teams!

Inside Tailgating Magazine is a great resource for everything tailgating! Be sure to visit their website and subscribe today!

Multiple Incidents of Fan Violence at the USA vs El Salvador Gold Cup Soccer Match

Posted on July 25, 2013 by FAV

Soccer matches worldwide are no stranger to fan violence. Some of the most extreme acts of violence have happened in countries like Brazil, Columbia and England to name a few. Most recently, a referee was killed, in the most gruesome of ways, by a mob of angry fans in Brazil after the referee stabbed a player with a knife!

Although here in the US we are very familiar with violence at sporting events nationwide, we do not often hear about violence in the world of US Soccer. Lately it seems the violence is escalating. Not long ago there was a referee at a youth soccer game was punched in the head by a player and later died from the injury and just last week pandemonium erupted as up to 400 rival soccer fans clashed during El Super Clasico pregame festivities in Las Vegas.

In this most recent incident, during the USA vs El Salvador match in the CONCACAF Gold Cup at M&T Stadium in Baltimore, there were reports of multiple fights both inside and outside the stadium.

According to World Soccer Talk’s Morgan Green, when he spoke with stadium security they said had tripled the amount of security for this event and it still was barely enough to handle all the fights that were going on.

What possesses fans to go to these extremes? OVER A GAME?

There is no definitive answer. Some say alcohol, some say the “mob mentality” takes over. What we do know is this behavior MUST stop. There is so much hate in the world already. Our sporting events should be a place where we can unwind and have fun, not a place where we fear for our safety and our lives.

Be aware this video contains violence

Justice for Jets Fan James Mohr

Posted on May 7, 2013 by FAV

On May 3, 2013 in Bergen County Criminal Court, a judge sentenced Merle Lee, the man responsible for the brutal attack on James Mohr outside of MetLife Stadium on December 11, 2011, to three years in a New Jersey State Prison following Lee’s plea of guilty to the assault.

The attack left Mohr with several fractures, including his jaw and eye socket, as well as internal bleeding on his brain. He spent a week in the hospital, undergoing a four hour surgery to repair his face, and months recovering at home before being able to return to work and other daily activities.

Lee was initially cited a desk appearance ticket for disorderly conduct, but upon learning of the severity of Mohr’s injuries, police officials raised the charge to aggravated assault and a warrant was issued for Lee’s arrest. He was taken into custody two days following the attack and was indicted by a grand jury.

The judge’s ruling comes as a victory for the Mohr family, who has waited over a year for justice to be served. While the family was not present at the sentencing, the outcome was welcomed with great relief and tears of joy. It is now a closed chapter, and focus can be redirected to James’ ongoing recovery and a celebration of the strides he has made in the process.

Fans Against Violence has followed this case from the beginning, and we are ecstatic to learn of this news. We hope this serves as a lesson to fans everywhere- violence at sporting events can be extremely dangerous, even fatal, and offenders will be held accountable for their actions and poor judgment. This incident caused many people pain, and now a man will lose three years of his life behind bars for his crime. It is never worth it. No one wins. Everyone suffers. Please remember that it is just a game, and we are there to enjoy ourselves, root for our teams and show respect for our fellow man.

Shooting Occurs near Raiders – Cardinals Game NOT necessarily Fan related…

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Jay Captain JackRackem Levy

Reports Friday night stated another ‘Gun-Incident’ took place at a football game pitting the Oakland Raiders against their host Arizona Cardinals. Naturally, all the ‘Debby Downers’ had it as yet ANOTHER case of Raiders fans being Hoodlums, etc… However, as is with most news stories that jump right from ‘initial reports’ to ‘the hot press,’ this incident isn’t exactly what most football-fan-hoodlum naysayers will use to ‘beat the drum.’

According to Officer Tracey Breeden, the on-duty Public Information officer for the Glendale Police Department, a 9:30 PM local time altercation between two male individuals took place in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn, which is sometimes used as ‘overflow parking’ for games. The shooter, who immediately called the police once the incident took place, stated that it was accidental when he pulled out a gun and it fired. The victim of the shooting suffered what Breeden called ‘flesh wounds’ and not what were erroneously reported originally as ‘life-threatening injuries.’ The as yet unidentified shooter is in police custody, but is not under arrest at this time. Police are reporting the shooting victim will be ‘perfectly fine.’ Further non-factual reporting had the weapon as a shotgun when in fact it was a hand gun (caliber as yet to be identified), with the shot purported to be to the face – which has yet to be confirmed. Again, as soon as the words ‘Gun Shots’ ‘Victim’ and ‘Football Game’ come across in any order in short period of time, many folks in the media as well as the general public rush off in panic mode, not knowing the full story. This travesty of jumping to conclusions before all facts are in most definitely needs to stop. While it is a shame that an incident and injury occurred due to a handgun discharge adjacent to a sporting event, one should remember that until all facts are gleaned, jumping to conclusions may be bad to your health… from the strain it puts on your mind and your legs!

Anti-Fan Violence “Improving Personal Safety at Stadiums Act” Passes CA Senate

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Anna Mohr

California is a signature away from passing legislation in an attempt to solve the growing problem of violence at sporting events- a small victory in the ongoing crusade to bring peace to fans statewide.

AB 2464, proposed by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, landed on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk on Tuesday, and is expected to be signed within the next two weeks. It will mandate owners of all sports facilities to post notices containing the telephone number and text message code to dial in the event an incident arises which calls for security to be summoned. Further, these notices must be strategically placed in locations visible to a majority of spectators in seating areas, parking lots located on the complex premises and at all points of entry.

Gatto introduced this bill back in February, in response to the outrageous number of violent acts reported at sporting events statewide. After being told by some of his constituents that they are concerned for their safety at stadiums and arenas, Gatto decided to take action. The passage of this bill, he hopes, will encourage people to alert authorities before situations escalate and assuage the fear that many have developed to attend games and matches.

We’re optimistic that this law will go into effect, and hopeful that California blazes a trail for other states to follow. As citizens and fans, we are entitled to protection and should not be shy about asking our politicians to ensure that we receive it at all times, including during sporting events. Thank you to the citizens of California, and to Assemblyman Gatto, for refusing to sit on the sideline while this vicious conduct continues. We admire their efforts and hope they inspire more people to join the cause.

Fans Against Violence – A Mother’s Story

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Maureen Mohr

I am a fan against violence and a mother against violence. On December 11, 2011, my son James Mohr was assaulted in the parking lot of MetLife Stadium after a NY Jets-Kansas City Chiefs game. James had been involved in a verbal exchange with a Kansas City fan who had made some comments about 9/11. He thought that he would enlighten her regarding the inappropriateness of her statements. When that discussion was ended, someone came from behind him and dealt him a beating that resulted in severe but thankfully not life-threatening injuries. Our family continues to be affected by this incident.

Maureen & James Mohr

Of course, our lives came to a standstill as we spent days and nights at the hospital before and after the surgery done to repair James’ face, which had been broken in three places. More frightening was that he had some bleeding on the brain and had suffered a major concussion. James was 23 at the time, and healthy and strong. At first I obsessed about the brain and then started worrying that he would lose his dimples when his face was reconstructed. The plastic surgeon did a magnificent job and he still has those dimples. His eyes, however, are not in sync with one another and he still is being treated for that problem. The effects of the concussion are less apparent – mood swings, headaches, and all the things that sons don’t share with their mothers.

I have never been able to stand violent behavior. I can’t watch violence in movies, can’t even watch a boxing match. I don’t understand why anyone gets pleasure from hitting someone else. When I read about people being beaten, it used to make me sick. Now it makes me sicker. I think about James being left on the ground, his head bleeding and in a state of unconsciousness, and I am astounded that anyone could have done this to my son.

I question whether I should have encouraged my children to be competitive – they are indeed avid fans of some team in every sport. They have played soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, and have run track and are good swimmers. They have always wanted to win, and they have always wanted their teams to win. Although I don’t really believe that this was an instance of team rivalry, I know that those kinds of rivalries have resulted in similar violent behavior. It is not acceptable. We should be able to root for our teams without anticipating that a physical attack might ensue.

Given the catalyst of this event – the verbal exchange with the Kansas City fan–I wonder if I should have supported my son’s right to state his opinion about things and to believe that he could talk someone into adopting his point of view. Freedom of speech and all that – things I thought my children should appreciate. So I question myself constantly.

And I worry. Never having thought something like this could happen, now I know that it can and it does and it did. My children are adults and yet I never stop worrying. I wonder if I ever will stop worrying and if it’s possible to resign from this job as mother. There are doctor’s and hospital bills to contend with, a criminal case that we try to follow and of course the following up on the health issues. When I see strangers parked on our block, I wonder if someone is stalking one of my family members; if the phone rings in the middle of the night, my heart stops.

I realize that I have become a prisoner of sorts – that someone else’s criminal act has caused me to imprison myself with fear, uncertainty and negativity. By doing this, my spirit is impaired and everything is more difficult. Luckily, I have come to recognize this impairment and I am determined to knock down those prison walls and enjoy my freedoms and cheer for my teams. It is my hope that all fans may do the same in a healthy and safe environment and that no mother will have to meet her child in a trauma center after a football game.

Fan Violence: A Symptom of a Societal Problem

Posted on June 14, 2012 by DocRobyn

Cyber bullying, gossip, backstabbing, bickering, catty behavior, mean mommy in the minivan, dad screaming on the sidelines of a youth game, office politics, ‘reality’ TV, bench clearing brawls, beating someone because they support a rival team… All examples of people not knowing how to handle negative emotions and engage in productive conflict; it is becoming an epidemic.

Dr. Robyn Odegaard

We have accepted that disagreements often escalate into physical violence. Turn on the TV at almost any time and you can find a ‘reality’ program that shows the meanest, most hateful person succeeding and getting ahead. Is it really any wonder this behavior is spilling over into our stadium parking lots? We are allowing stupid behavior to become the new normal. Fortunately, we have the ability (and I believe, the responsibility) to change it.

I am going to break something shocking to you – the tirades people go on are driven by feelings and the inability to manage them, not logic or facts. When did feelings become the ‘F’ word while the real f-bomb is dropped without a thought? How are we supposed to learn what to do with negative feelings? Who teaches this stuff? Somewhere along the way we have forgotten to teach our young people how to have a disagreement without being rude, disrespectful and throwing a tantrum.

Why does it matter? Well aside from general human decency (which I think is a pretty big issue), knowing how to use productive conflict and engage in a professional disagreement has been shown to lead to greater success. And success leads to more happiness and usually higher income. Need evidence? See here, here, here and here.

What are we going to do about it? Well I don’t know about you, but I founded the Stop The Drama! Campaign to show people from junior high through CEOs how to understand what they are feeling and to use language powerfully to move toward resolution rather than epic meltdown. You can call it organizational development, team building, professional coaching or team psychology. Whatever label you put on it the bottom line is this – grownups who are able to act like grownups are going to get further in life. I am not suggesting people suppress their feelings. In fact I teach exactly the opposite. We all can benefit by learning how to express ourselves productively rather than using the volcano method (push it down until the pressure is so great it explodes).

Let me start by defining ‘Productive Conflict’ – The act of addressing and handling a disagreement or misunderstanding using an established set of healthy communication guidelines which lead to resolution (from the book Stop the Drama!).

Here are a few steps for preparing to engage in productive conflict (even if the person you are speaking to does not understand the foundation of it).

Know what you need to achieve with the conversation. Productive conflict isn’t about winning or losing. It is about reaching a resolution. Ask yourself – what is my end goal and do I really need to have this conversation?
Understand and remove any preconceived ideas you have about why the other person did what they did. Small children know you can’t understand why something happens unless you ask. As adults we stop asking why and start making it up. It is important to enter a discussion with a blank slate.
Know your timeout point. All of us have buttons that can get pushed. Know when you have reached the point where you are fighting rather than discussing and take a timeout. As I always say, just because a conversation starts to go downhill doesn’t mean you have to go with it.
Now you are ready to implement the actual steps of productive conflict in this post: We Need More Conflict in Our Lives!

These steps are a foundation to managing emotion and engaging in productive conflict. If there weren’t competitors, if there was no such thing as rivalries, sports wouldn’t exist. There is no reason to be hateful, condescending or rude to someone because of the team they support. Recognize when rivalry is going too far and walk away. Shrug and say, “We’ll see”. The skills you employ could save your life if your rival is part of the no-holds-barred epidemic of conflict management.

RaiderNationTimes.com -Interview with Wayne ‘The Violator’ Maybry

Posted on June 13, 2012 by FAV

In this great interview John Doublin of the Raider Nation Times speaks with one of the Oakland Raiders most well known “Super Fans”, Wayne ‘The Violator’ Maybry about his life, love of the Oakland Raiders and his efforts with many Charitable organizations including FAV. We are honored to have ‘The Violator’ as a supporter.

Below is an excerpt from the interview. To read the full article please visit RaiderNationTimes.com.

Oakland Raiders Super Fan: Wayne ‘The Violator’ Maybry

~By John Doublin-June 12, 2012

These days, Wayne spends his off time on more civic and philanthropic pursuits. He offers his time to several children’s and cancer charities and lends his name and persona to other entities that are working hard to reduce fan violence at all sporting events.

The Silver and Black Angel Foundation is a non-profit organization started by Joe Martinez in the memory of his father, Art. They are dedicated to raising awareness and funds for cancer research and providing opportunities for children and adults throughout many communities. (Click the above link for more information.)

While researching this article, I came across a great example of what Wayne and the people at The Silver and Black Angel Foundation are doing in the community on TheDowneyBeat.com. As you can see by the official photo in that article, Wayne believes in this foundation and is heavily involved.

Raider Nation 4 Life Car Club puts on a car show every year in Lakewood, CA called “Cruise For A Cause,” the proceeds of which go to benefit families in need in the Long Beach, CA area. Wayne and other Raider Super Fans support this cause and do what they can to help.

Wayne hopes to have his custom 2000 Chevy Silverado finished and entered into these shows in the near future.

Fans Against Violence, (FAV) is a non-profit organization started by Raider fan Kathy Samoun and is dedicated to ending violence in the stands at sporting events. Although Wayne isn’t directly involved with FAV, he does lend his time and his name to their cause saying:

“I don’t get to help them very often, but I absolutely support everything their doing over there, so I help when I can, because real fans don’t cross that line. We should leave the violence on the field.”

FAV is also a partner site to Raider Nation Times and can be found in the “our partners” section of our home page.

In addition to all of these great causes, Mr. Maybry also lends his time to the Toys for Tots program and the Ontario, CA Fire Department for their annual toy drive and fund raising events in Ontario, CA.

Needless to say, there is much more to this man than the spiked shoulder pads, face paint and intimidating name. He’s a genuinely caring and giving individual.

Wayne has also begun to plan for his retirement. He’s started his own fitness apparel line called Modo-Sports which specializes in reasonably-priced fitness apparel for the entire family. From youngsters to adults, Modo-Sports has the right fitness clothing for you to “Get it done!”

read full article..

Fan Violence in Sport by Robb Silverstein – San Jose State

Posted on June 10, 2012 by FAV

We recently spoke with Robb Silverstein who was writing a paper on Fan Violence for a class called “Sports in America”. Robb is 4th year student at San Jose State studying Public Relations with a minor in Business Management. He is a huge sports fan who has always had a passion for sports.

Robb was kind enough to include Fans Against Violence in his paper and allow us to share it with you.

Fan Violence in Sport

~By Robb Silverstein – May 14, 2012

An issue that has been a constant in North American sport is the problem of fan violence. This has been an issue particularly in contact sports such as football, hockey and baseball. Some of the main issues surrounding fan violence include team identification, consumption of alcohol at arena’s, the bad economy and the moral panic of the media just to name a few. As the text points out the word fan is short for fanatic. As we all know fanatics are not usually a good thing. Fans are flocking to stadiums and arenas and setting attendance records and according to an article on fan violence by USA today, NFL stadiums averaged 25 ejections and 3 arrests per week (Klemko,2011). Football is not the only sport that has a major problem with this. The NHL and MLB have also run into problems with violence. Pro sports aren’t the only culprit though. According to the National Summit on Civil Disturbances, sporting events account for over 25 percent of event disturbances on college campuses (Gordon et all 2005).

In the following paper I will present reasons why this violence is happening. This will occur through tons of research on the specific issues, which lead to fan violence. Sources that will be used include scholarly journals, newspaper articles, and the class text. Books and interviews with fan violence awareness org’s. All of the above will examine the problem and specifically North American sport fan violence.

The first issue that I will be discussing in regards to fan violence is team identification. According to a piece in Asian Journal of Management and Humanity Sciences, team identification is defined as “the personal commitment and emotional involvement customers have with a sport team.” (Shiue Gau et all 2009).The same piece talks about the social identity theory, which relates to team identification and says that identifying with a group enhances a persons self esteem because of the personal meaning and value that comes from belonging to or associating with a particular group. As Paul Greenwood, who published a study on sport fan team identification for his masters thesis at North Carolina State points out, this identification can take an ugly turn when the team you identify with loses. Greenwood says that “after witnessing a loss, fans with high identification levels look for external attributes in an effort to protect their self-esteem, and aggression is generally directed at officials and opposing players and/or fans which can lead to spectator violence.” (Greenwood,2001).

Winning and losing plays a big role in fan violence, to think of it in a very simple way. People are happy when their team wins. The opposite holds true when their team loses. While riots still happen when wins occur, the actual issue of fan vs. fan violence usually has to deal with who wins and loses. Jerry Middleton Lewis touches on this in his book Sports Fan Violence in North America. Lewis says that that the victory experience is the ultimate form of sports fan identification. He also adds that the typical violent fan wants to be part of the victory, yet they cant do any of the things that they see their favorite players doing on the court. However, they do know how to be violent. Violence gives some fans the ability to feel almost as if they are doing their part for the team) Middleton Lewis, 2001).

Celebratory violence can also be a factor to team identification. Goodtherapy.org, a leading therapist organization, wrote a piece on how celebratory violence increases fan identification, describes this as the celebration of a teams victory and how the results are destruction of property through rioting. The study found that people who had participated in this type of behavior had higher fan identification than those who had not (Goodtherapy.org,2011).

Besides team identification, another factor that leads to fan violence is the over consumption of alcohol at sporting events. The class text highlights this in the section on fan violence. The text says that a way to limit fan violence would be to decreases the amount of alcohol sold at games, that seems unlikely to happen so for now it is important to understand how much of a problem alcohol is when it comes to fan violence. (Eitzen & Sage, 2009)

To do just that, I start with presenting an article from the League of Fans. The League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to encourage social & civic responsibility in the sports industry. In the article, Ken Reed, states that alcohol is usually the number one reason for fan violence. “Alcohol is by far the biggest problem when it comes to fan safety at stadiums and arenas. The vast majority of these incidents involve alcohol abuse.” (Reed,2011) Reed goes on to say that it all starts even before the game starts in the parking lot and teams and leagues.

In terms of specific cases, Brendan McCarthy wrote an article for the Times-Picayune, New Orleans main newspaper, on the problem of fan violence and just how bad it is becoming. In the piece he mentions the recent sexual assault of an unconscious Louisiana State university fan by an Alabama fan following the championship between those two teams. In the article he interviews Jason Lanter, assistant professor of psychology at Kutztown University. Lanter says that alcohol and the elation of winning gives fans the idea that they have the right to miss-behave. Both teams’ fans were intoxicated and while you cant only blame alcohol, it clearly made things a lot worse in this case (McCarthy,2012).

Besides the issues of team identification and violence, another factor for fan violence is the economy. I interviewed Kathy Samoun, the founder of fansagainstviolence.org. Samoun started the organization after the Brian Stow attack at Dodger Stadium and the 49ers-Raiders preseason game violence, to raise awareness for a problem that is as big as ever. In the interview Samoun says that people need something to feel hopeful about, and sports like football, are one thing many people can relate to even if they are struggling financially. She pointed out that there is an increase in violence when teams lose and the horrible economy just puts an even stronger emphasis on the desire to win.(Samoun,2012). The USA Today article mentioned earlier also touched on this. In the article Charles Williams a professor of Psychology at Drexel University says that people are looking to escape the lack of money and jobs by going to sporting events. The combination of the bad economy and rising ticket prices is not a good one when it comes to the impact of violence at sporting events. (Klemko,2011)

The 2nd factor that that Samoun discussed was the media’s role in all of this. One would think that media coverage and exposure to the issue would be a good thing, but Samoun argued that is not the case. She said that it’s a double edge sword. People are so on edge now when they attend a sporting event, afraid at the first “boo” from someone that they are reacting quicker out of fear that they will also be attacked. Samoun and her organization aren’t alone in this line of thinking. Russell Ward Jr. published a study in Science Direct that agreed. It compared and contrasted the idea of social problem vs. moral panic. Moral panics, which are “righteous appeals from the media that something must be done to extinguish a social menace.” (Ward,2012) Ward described examples of fan violence coverage by the media as over the top and exaggerates and makes the problem much worse. His main point was that this raises emotions when the best approach would be actual thinking.

Sporting events are supposed to be fun. Fan violence has ruined games for tons of people. As noted earlier, some reform actions are under way. One particular idea that would be effective comes from California Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles). According to the Sf Weekly, Gatto is drafting legislation that would ban fans from games that participated in acts of violence at sporting events. This would look similar to the no-fly list. They would also face severer jail time and a fine (Sherbert,2012).

To look at how specific teams are trying to crack down on this happening at their stadium I bring in an article in the Wall Street Journal on what the 49ers did before their playoff game verse the Giants. Earlier in the season the 49ers had had major problems with violence at games. Well for this playoff game, the article says that the 49ers handled things much differently. For one, they banned tailgating after kickoff. This obviously leads to less people becoming belligerent. The 49ers also increased security by 25 percent and let fans know the week of the game that cops would be dressed as Giants fans. This strategy ended up working considering the 49ers lost a heart-breaker and the number of incidents decreased (Carlton, 2012).

To conclude, it is important to be aware of the problem of fan violence at sporting events. It is a shame that anyone would not go to a game due to violence but you can’t blame anyone who does so, given the high number of arrests and violence at games. The media as shown, needs to do there job to not sensationalize the issue but cover it in a balanced matter. Teams have their role in this as well. As cases like the 49ers –Giants game show, if teams are organized and work to stop this it can be done. Issues like high team identification and even a bad economy don’t have to lead to violence if teams continue to strive to stop fan violence.