Pickel v. Springfield Stallions, Inc., 398 Ill.App.3d 1063 (Ill. App. Mar. 23, 2010). Plaintiff, a spectator at an indoor-football game, was injured when a player fell over the stands and collided with the plaintiff. The plaintiff brought tort claims not against the player, but as a result of the negligent maintenance and failure to warn spectators of the possibility of injury. The trial court found in favor of the defendants on the grounds that they owed no duty because of the inherent risk involved with watching the football game. The court here, however, agreed with the plaintiff's argument that the precedent for the trial court's decision came from cases wherein the plaintiff was a participant not a spectator. Accordingly, the court determined that the defendants owed a duty to take reasonable action to prevent unreasonable risks of harm. Therefore, the court remanded the case back to the trial court for action consistent with its ruling.
Thus, when a fan is injured, a team/facility would need to show the law as applied to other spectators and what risks they might be willing to take, not what risks a participant accepts.
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Fan Arrests in MA
Chief changing stadium game plan
By Bill Stedman
Published: Thursday, December 9, 2010 10:23 AM EST
After Monday night's game, Foxboro Police Chief Edward O'Leary said he will be making changes in parts of his security plan at Gillette Stadium for the next cold-weather night game, Sunday, Dec. 19, against the Green Bay Packers.
While the New England Patriots were busy putting up 45 points against the rival New York Jets Monday, local police in and around the stadium were taking 112 fans into custody -- 97 placed in protective custody for public intoxication.
State police placed another five people in protective custody and took them to the nearby Foxboro Barracks.
"That's the most for a football game in a long, long time," said a surprised Foxboro Police Chief Edward O'Leary, who is also in charge of police security in the stadium. "We have not had over 100 custodies for a game since I've been chief in 1985."
O'Leary noted that, for a single stadium event held in one evening -- not an all-day concert such as the New England Country Music Festival -- having 80-90 people in custody is a high number.
"I was talking to some key people after the game, and we will have some changes ready for Green Bay in two weeks," O'Leary said. "We will have to cover some things we didn't anticipate."
That includes the fact that almost half of those taken into protective custody, O'Leary said, were picked up during screening as they tried to enter the stadium in a drunken state.
The unexpected number of early custodies swamped the police holding compound at Gillette, run by Sgt. Allan Haskell, and caused backups all night, O'Leary said.
There were still protective custody cases in the compound as late as 2:30 a.m., the chief reported, and police were stilll processing custodies at daybreak at the Public Safety Building.
He attributes the lopsided score (the Patriots won, 45-3) as one reason why many fans lost focus on the field of play and created problems in the stands during the second half.
He also pointed to the evidence of the type of bottles scattered in the parking lots after the game to indicate that many fans arriving in the frigid temperatures were drinking hard liquor while tailgating, rather than beer. "That's a quicker hit (than beer) and changes people's behavior," O'Leary said, noting that he's seen a trend at concerts in particular of more hard alcohol being consumed.
O'Leary said he had an emergency medical technician assigned to the stadium compound to assess those brought in, and that seven highly-impaired fans had to be transported by ambulance to area hospitals. He noted that many of those picked up for intoxication during the game were still drunk in the morning and were "sleeping it off" in the Public Safety Building's holding cells until noon, when they could pass the blood alcohol test and be released.
Many people believe that drinking alcohol helps warm the body, perhaps prompting the added consumption for these winter night games. Monday's temperatures dropped into the low 20s, with a wind chill far below that, and the Dec. 19 game against Green Bay (to be broadcast on NBC) promises similar conditions.
O'Leary worries that, because people are not working Sunday, they will be arriving earlier to tailgate in the parking lots for the Sunday game, and that may increase alcohol abuse.
Criminal arrests
Also Monday night, 15 fans were arrested on criminal charges, including two charged with assaulting a police officer. But O'Leary reported no officers were injured.
David A. Champiney, 58, of 292 Main St. RS, Montgomery, was arrested for assault and battery on a police officer and interfering with the arrest of another person. Sushant Koruru, 29, of 118 Forest St., Stamford, Conn., was charged with assault and battery on a police officer and disorderly conduct.
Of the several fights in the stands during the game, none were serious, he said. Eric Lee Branch, 46, of 112 Plymouth St., Bridgewater, was arrested and charged with assault.
Three persons were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest: William C. Houlihan, 26, 1339 Park St. #2, Attleboro (also charged with malicious destruction of property worth more than $250); Peter J. O'Conner, 46, 274 Sycamore Drive, Holden; and Keith J. Houlihan, 25, 18 Corbin St., Franklin.
Another seven were arrested and charged only with disorderly conduct: Phillip John Tripoli, 25, 11 Thorough Court #8, Natick; Philip D. Martin, 41, 56 Van Horn St., West Springfield; Jonathan Cornell, 28, 233 Kispert Court, Swansea; Ryan A. Vanderstreet, 26, 287 Dorchester St. #2, South Boston; Javier Molina, 22, 96 Urban Ave. #2FL, North Providence, R.I.; Tino M. Cabral, 22, 127 Francis Ave., Pawtucket, R.I.; and Alexander H. Cronin, 23, of 33 Station Drive, Dover, N.H.
There were few arrests in the parking lots before the game, and only one charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol: Samuel Skinner Bacon, 18, of 8 Berkley Place, Cambridge. He was also charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and procurring alcohol for minors.
http://www.foxbororeporter.com/articles/2010/12/09/news/8513306.txt
By Bill Stedman
Published: Thursday, December 9, 2010 10:23 AM EST
After Monday night's game, Foxboro Police Chief Edward O'Leary said he will be making changes in parts of his security plan at Gillette Stadium for the next cold-weather night game, Sunday, Dec. 19, against the Green Bay Packers.
While the New England Patriots were busy putting up 45 points against the rival New York Jets Monday, local police in and around the stadium were taking 112 fans into custody -- 97 placed in protective custody for public intoxication.
State police placed another five people in protective custody and took them to the nearby Foxboro Barracks.
"That's the most for a football game in a long, long time," said a surprised Foxboro Police Chief Edward O'Leary, who is also in charge of police security in the stadium. "We have not had over 100 custodies for a game since I've been chief in 1985."
O'Leary noted that, for a single stadium event held in one evening -- not an all-day concert such as the New England Country Music Festival -- having 80-90 people in custody is a high number.
"I was talking to some key people after the game, and we will have some changes ready for Green Bay in two weeks," O'Leary said. "We will have to cover some things we didn't anticipate."
That includes the fact that almost half of those taken into protective custody, O'Leary said, were picked up during screening as they tried to enter the stadium in a drunken state.
The unexpected number of early custodies swamped the police holding compound at Gillette, run by Sgt. Allan Haskell, and caused backups all night, O'Leary said.
There were still protective custody cases in the compound as late as 2:30 a.m., the chief reported, and police were stilll processing custodies at daybreak at the Public Safety Building.
He attributes the lopsided score (the Patriots won, 45-3) as one reason why many fans lost focus on the field of play and created problems in the stands during the second half.
He also pointed to the evidence of the type of bottles scattered in the parking lots after the game to indicate that many fans arriving in the frigid temperatures were drinking hard liquor while tailgating, rather than beer. "That's a quicker hit (than beer) and changes people's behavior," O'Leary said, noting that he's seen a trend at concerts in particular of more hard alcohol being consumed.
O'Leary said he had an emergency medical technician assigned to the stadium compound to assess those brought in, and that seven highly-impaired fans had to be transported by ambulance to area hospitals. He noted that many of those picked up for intoxication during the game were still drunk in the morning and were "sleeping it off" in the Public Safety Building's holding cells until noon, when they could pass the blood alcohol test and be released.
Many people believe that drinking alcohol helps warm the body, perhaps prompting the added consumption for these winter night games. Monday's temperatures dropped into the low 20s, with a wind chill far below that, and the Dec. 19 game against Green Bay (to be broadcast on NBC) promises similar conditions.
O'Leary worries that, because people are not working Sunday, they will be arriving earlier to tailgate in the parking lots for the Sunday game, and that may increase alcohol abuse.
Criminal arrests
Also Monday night, 15 fans were arrested on criminal charges, including two charged with assaulting a police officer. But O'Leary reported no officers were injured.
David A. Champiney, 58, of 292 Main St. RS, Montgomery, was arrested for assault and battery on a police officer and interfering with the arrest of another person. Sushant Koruru, 29, of 118 Forest St., Stamford, Conn., was charged with assault and battery on a police officer and disorderly conduct.
Of the several fights in the stands during the game, none were serious, he said. Eric Lee Branch, 46, of 112 Plymouth St., Bridgewater, was arrested and charged with assault.
Three persons were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest: William C. Houlihan, 26, 1339 Park St. #2, Attleboro (also charged with malicious destruction of property worth more than $250); Peter J. O'Conner, 46, 274 Sycamore Drive, Holden; and Keith J. Houlihan, 25, 18 Corbin St., Franklin.
Another seven were arrested and charged only with disorderly conduct: Phillip John Tripoli, 25, 11 Thorough Court #8, Natick; Philip D. Martin, 41, 56 Van Horn St., West Springfield; Jonathan Cornell, 28, 233 Kispert Court, Swansea; Ryan A. Vanderstreet, 26, 287 Dorchester St. #2, South Boston; Javier Molina, 22, 96 Urban Ave. #2FL, North Providence, R.I.; Tino M. Cabral, 22, 127 Francis Ave., Pawtucket, R.I.; and Alexander H. Cronin, 23, of 33 Station Drive, Dover, N.H.
There were few arrests in the parking lots before the game, and only one charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol: Samuel Skinner Bacon, 18, of 8 Berkley Place, Cambridge. He was also charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and procurring alcohol for minors.
http://www.foxbororeporter.com/articles/2010/12/09/news/8513306.txt
Ice battle
Injuries and arrests after ice throwing, fights at Apple Cup
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By William Dow
December 6, 2010
While the Apple Cup always sparks tension between UW and Washington State University (WSU) fans, ice thrown at the field made the game particularly hostile and dangerous this year in Pullman, Wash.
Thirty-four people were treated at an ambulance on Saturday night and eight were taken to the hospital; it is unclear how many of the 34 were injured from flying ice or from fights. Spectators throwing ice also targeted Semisi Tokolahi, a UW defensive tackle who broke his ankle during the game, while he was being taken off the field on a cart.
Darin Watkins, WSU’s executive director of External Communications, said Sunday afternoon that “dozens” of people were arrested for throwing ice at the game. Watkins said no exact number could be given because the numbers were still being tallied by the police department.
Balls of ice thrown were from sections throughout the stadium, but they originated primarily from two: the section of UW fans in the east end zone and the WSU student section on the north end. Subfreezing day-long temperatures left ice on the ground around seats during game time, which ultimately was thrown at people on the playing surface.
Not surprisingly, the primary targets for the spectators were the fans and staff of the opposing team, including the UW band when they were preparing for the halftime show near the WSU student section and the men carrying the “Cougs!” flags when they would run near the UW section. For the last touchdown, the Cougars’ flaggers didn’t run near the UW section, unlike the first several times.
http://dailyuw.com/2010/12/6/injuries-and-arrests-after-ice-throwing-fights-app/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By William Dow
December 6, 2010
While the Apple Cup always sparks tension between UW and Washington State University (WSU) fans, ice thrown at the field made the game particularly hostile and dangerous this year in Pullman, Wash.
Thirty-four people were treated at an ambulance on Saturday night and eight were taken to the hospital; it is unclear how many of the 34 were injured from flying ice or from fights. Spectators throwing ice also targeted Semisi Tokolahi, a UW defensive tackle who broke his ankle during the game, while he was being taken off the field on a cart.
Darin Watkins, WSU’s executive director of External Communications, said Sunday afternoon that “dozens” of people were arrested for throwing ice at the game. Watkins said no exact number could be given because the numbers were still being tallied by the police department.
Balls of ice thrown were from sections throughout the stadium, but they originated primarily from two: the section of UW fans in the east end zone and the WSU student section on the north end. Subfreezing day-long temperatures left ice on the ground around seats during game time, which ultimately was thrown at people on the playing surface.
Not surprisingly, the primary targets for the spectators were the fans and staff of the opposing team, including the UW band when they were preparing for the halftime show near the WSU student section and the men carrying the “Cougs!” flags when they would run near the UW section. For the last touchdown, the Cougars’ flaggers didn’t run near the UW section, unlike the first several times.
http://dailyuw.com/2010/12/6/injuries-and-arrests-after-ice-throwing-fights-app/
Monday, August 30, 2010
Football fans to fanatic?
Posted on Sat, Aug. 28, 2010 10:15 PM
Some football fans get a little too fanatical
BY KENT BABB | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
Are rowdy Chiefs fans just a part of the experience at Arrowhead Stadium, or do they sometimes cross the line? More News
Haley expects to be more Jekyll and less Hyde this year Chiefs are trying to build with character Weis as an assistant coach might be a great thing for the Chiefs Jones gives Chiefs more than just running ability How players motivate themselves Some football fans get a little too fanatical Chiefs’ 2010 schedule John Benson decided that if this was the Arrowhead Stadium experience, then it just isn’t worth it.
Benson, an Olathe resident, says that two years ago he took his young sons to a Chiefs exhibition game. It was bad enough that it rained, and then a handful of rowdy fans began displaying how much they’d had to drink. Benson says they were smoking and cursing, and he had to tell his sons, ages 7 and 11, that not all fans behave this way.
“It’s hard to explain,” says Benson, 48. “It was just terrible.”
He says he won’t be back — not unless he is assured that things have changed.
Arrowhead has been known for years as one of America’s liveliest venues to watch football. The sea of red, and all that passion with a fan base that lives and dies with every play. But at Arrowhead, the same as anywhere, the venue is only as enjoyable as the people who congregate inside it.
As sports fans get rowdier and ticket prices rise, those who pay their way in expect a total outlet. Chiefs Sundays are sacred, and one fan’s charms are another’s turnoffs.
“That Sunday is what you live for,” Benson says. “But you shouldn’t have to worry about who’s sitting around you and who might throw up on you. I can’t subject my kids to that.”
Thomas Joiner is a psychology professor at Florida State University, and he has studied sports fans’ behavior. He says that there has been a gradual “loosening of control” in many football stadiums, and as some fans get louder, drunker and more profane, there’s another group that just won’t subject themselves to something that’s supposed to be fun.
“There’s an element of cutting loose and blowing off steam,” Joiner says. “Those scenes are not for everybody.”
Joiner tells a story about a medieval tradition in a religious village. On occasion, the villagers would gather in a sacred location. The clerics, commoners and priests all drank themselves silly and acted like maniacs, because they believed it helped them deal with the rigors of life.
Joiner says that sounds a lot like today’s football stadiums, when people from various races, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds dress alike for one day a week and leave reality at home.
Joiner even says there’s a correlation between gathering at sporting events and a reduction in the suicide rates, because there’s relief in joining like-minded fans, even if the team is dreadful.
Jeff Mann lives in Kansas City, North, and says he can understand that feeling of belonging. He’s a 20-year Chiefs season-ticket holder, and he says his section has become something like a community. Like in a strong neighborhood, the regulars keep the riffraff at bay.
“There’s an element of fans there that are newer to the stadium,” he says, “who don’t know protocol, who don’t go to many games. You get that new fan out there who’s quicker to drop an F-bomb or get rowdy. Fans around them do a good job to say ‘knock it off.’ ”
Even so, Mann has seen Arrowhead when it shows its teeth. He’s used the stadium’s system of reporting misbehavior via an anonymous text-message line, which alerts authorities of bothersome fans and identifying their whereabouts. Mann says he witnessed a brawl in the parking lot last season, when one group of Chiefs fans fought with another after a loss to Oakland.
“Chief-on-Chief crime,” he says, and it’s amusing until he recounts the fight, in which one man suffered a broken bone in his face and another separated his shoulder.
Rich Lockhart is a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, and he says there’s a thick police presence dispatched each Sunday in the vicinity of Arrowhead. That’s in addition to off-duty police who work security inside.
“Whenever there’s more celebration,” Lockhart says, “there’s a better chance of misbehavior.”
Chiefs president Denny Thum says the team heard in recent years from concerned fans, and they were taken into account when Arrowhead was renovated. A family area was added to the northwest corner of the exterior, and the team will experiment this season with some lower-level seats that, Thum says, will be alcohol- and obscenity-free. He says there will be 25-40 of those seats in 2010, at no additional cost, and there’s potential for expansion.
That’s nice, but as usual when there’s discussion of change, not everyone is on board — not without some assurances that the old charms won’t be flushed away.
“I would hope the Chiefs never aspire to neuter, in effect, the fans,” Mann says. “I don’t think you want to take away that home-field advantage. There’s a way to go out there — raise hell, so to speak — and do it without (annoying) the family and spilling beer on the grandmother in front of you.”
Benson says he’s not yet ready to bring his children back to Arrowhead. Not only was his previous experience one he’d like to forget, but there are also the joys of high-definition TV to consider.
“I don’t want to be a prude about it,” he says, “and I don’t think I really am. We love the Chiefs. I’d just rather watch them from my living room.”
Posted on Sat, Aug. 28, 2010 10:15 PM
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/28/2176264/some-football-fans-get-a-little.html#ixzz0y8xnLkPU
Some football fans get a little too fanatical
BY KENT BABB | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
Are rowdy Chiefs fans just a part of the experience at Arrowhead Stadium, or do they sometimes cross the line? More News
Haley expects to be more Jekyll and less Hyde this year Chiefs are trying to build with character Weis as an assistant coach might be a great thing for the Chiefs Jones gives Chiefs more than just running ability How players motivate themselves Some football fans get a little too fanatical Chiefs’ 2010 schedule John Benson decided that if this was the Arrowhead Stadium experience, then it just isn’t worth it.
Benson, an Olathe resident, says that two years ago he took his young sons to a Chiefs exhibition game. It was bad enough that it rained, and then a handful of rowdy fans began displaying how much they’d had to drink. Benson says they were smoking and cursing, and he had to tell his sons, ages 7 and 11, that not all fans behave this way.
“It’s hard to explain,” says Benson, 48. “It was just terrible.”
He says he won’t be back — not unless he is assured that things have changed.
Arrowhead has been known for years as one of America’s liveliest venues to watch football. The sea of red, and all that passion with a fan base that lives and dies with every play. But at Arrowhead, the same as anywhere, the venue is only as enjoyable as the people who congregate inside it.
As sports fans get rowdier and ticket prices rise, those who pay their way in expect a total outlet. Chiefs Sundays are sacred, and one fan’s charms are another’s turnoffs.
“That Sunday is what you live for,” Benson says. “But you shouldn’t have to worry about who’s sitting around you and who might throw up on you. I can’t subject my kids to that.”
Thomas Joiner is a psychology professor at Florida State University, and he has studied sports fans’ behavior. He says that there has been a gradual “loosening of control” in many football stadiums, and as some fans get louder, drunker and more profane, there’s another group that just won’t subject themselves to something that’s supposed to be fun.
“There’s an element of cutting loose and blowing off steam,” Joiner says. “Those scenes are not for everybody.”
Joiner tells a story about a medieval tradition in a religious village. On occasion, the villagers would gather in a sacred location. The clerics, commoners and priests all drank themselves silly and acted like maniacs, because they believed it helped them deal with the rigors of life.
Joiner says that sounds a lot like today’s football stadiums, when people from various races, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds dress alike for one day a week and leave reality at home.
Joiner even says there’s a correlation between gathering at sporting events and a reduction in the suicide rates, because there’s relief in joining like-minded fans, even if the team is dreadful.
Jeff Mann lives in Kansas City, North, and says he can understand that feeling of belonging. He’s a 20-year Chiefs season-ticket holder, and he says his section has become something like a community. Like in a strong neighborhood, the regulars keep the riffraff at bay.
“There’s an element of fans there that are newer to the stadium,” he says, “who don’t know protocol, who don’t go to many games. You get that new fan out there who’s quicker to drop an F-bomb or get rowdy. Fans around them do a good job to say ‘knock it off.’ ”
Even so, Mann has seen Arrowhead when it shows its teeth. He’s used the stadium’s system of reporting misbehavior via an anonymous text-message line, which alerts authorities of bothersome fans and identifying their whereabouts. Mann says he witnessed a brawl in the parking lot last season, when one group of Chiefs fans fought with another after a loss to Oakland.
“Chief-on-Chief crime,” he says, and it’s amusing until he recounts the fight, in which one man suffered a broken bone in his face and another separated his shoulder.
Rich Lockhart is a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, and he says there’s a thick police presence dispatched each Sunday in the vicinity of Arrowhead. That’s in addition to off-duty police who work security inside.
“Whenever there’s more celebration,” Lockhart says, “there’s a better chance of misbehavior.”
Chiefs president Denny Thum says the team heard in recent years from concerned fans, and they were taken into account when Arrowhead was renovated. A family area was added to the northwest corner of the exterior, and the team will experiment this season with some lower-level seats that, Thum says, will be alcohol- and obscenity-free. He says there will be 25-40 of those seats in 2010, at no additional cost, and there’s potential for expansion.
That’s nice, but as usual when there’s discussion of change, not everyone is on board — not without some assurances that the old charms won’t be flushed away.
“I would hope the Chiefs never aspire to neuter, in effect, the fans,” Mann says. “I don’t think you want to take away that home-field advantage. There’s a way to go out there — raise hell, so to speak — and do it without (annoying) the family and spilling beer on the grandmother in front of you.”
Benson says he’s not yet ready to bring his children back to Arrowhead. Not only was his previous experience one he’d like to forget, but there are also the joys of high-definition TV to consider.
“I don’t want to be a prude about it,” he says, “and I don’t think I really am. We love the Chiefs. I’d just rather watch them from my living room.”
Posted on Sat, Aug. 28, 2010 10:15 PM
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/28/2176264/some-football-fans-get-a-little.html#ixzz0y8xnLkPU
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