Blue State Drunkards: NFL, Giants Stadium in Hot Water for Breast-Baring Ritual Among Fans

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312382,00.html

NFL, Giants Stadium in Hot Water for Breast-Baring Ritual Among Fans

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Giants Stadium management, the National Football League and the New York

Jets are in the hot seat over a practice that has become a halftime ritual

at Jets games: lewd, drunken male fans shouting at women to expose their

breasts.

The men whoop, whistle, chant and stomp for female fans to lift up their

shirts and bras, often shouting obscenities in the process. Some women

comply with the jeering requests.

When the male spectators don't get their wish, they frequently grow nasty -

booing, spitting and throwing beer bottles at the women they're targeting.

The story, which was first reported Tuesday by The New York Times, has

caused a public outcry and led the New York Jets to issue a statement about

the behavior.

"This type of conduct on one of the stadium spirals is outrageous and

unacceptable," said Jets senior vice president of business operations Matt

Higgins. "We have spoken with NJSEA [New Jersey Sports and Exposition

Authority] officials and demanded that they take steps immediately to ensure

that it does not happen again."

The NJSEA, which runs operations at Giants Stadium and The Meadowlands

complex where it's located, acknowledged that the bawdy ritual has been a

problem and said security staff and New Jersey State Police are doing what

they can to stop it.

"This is not something new to us in terms of dealing with rowdy fan

behavior," NJSEA President and CEO George Zoffinger told FOXNews.com.

"Anybody who uses vulgar language or is intoxicated or acting in an improper

manner is either ejected or arrested."

Zoffinger said that for the 2007 football season, eight women were tossed

out of Giants Stadium for indecent exposure, seven of them from Jets games

and one from a Giants game. So far, he said, a total of 148 people have been

thrown out of Jets games and 35 have been arrested for bad behavior,

compared to 174 ejections and 44 arrests at Giants games.

But punishing the males for their derogatory cat-calling isn't easy, he

contended, partly because of the large number of raucous fans at games and

partly because cheering doesn't necessarily warrant disciplinary action if

it isn't accompanied by indecent language, object-throwing or other behavior

that is against the law.

"In a crowd of people chanting, it is extremely difficult to single out a

person you would eject or arrest," said Zoffinger. "We crack down as much as

we can. If a crowd of 100 is chanting, 'Take off your top!', we try to

convince them it's not a good idea. We often get ridiculed for trying to do

that. But as abhorrent as it is, I'm not sure it's a crime. ... We can only

do so much."

One thing they can do, he said, is nab the women who bare their breasts and

the men who pressure them by using obscenities.

"We arrest the women because that's a crime," Zoffinger said. "If [the men]

say, 'Show me your f- t-, we can arrest them. If there is bad, vulgar

language involved, yes, we do eject them, every single time. ... Boorish

behavior will not be tolerated."

The breast-baring problem isn't at the top of the list of security concerns

at The Meadowlands, which handles 2 million visitors a year - the most of

any sports arenas in the United States, according to Zoffinger.

"We run one of the safest stadiums in the country," he said. "As abhorrent

as this behavior is, it does not pose a safety and security issue. I don't

think the security staff looks the other way. If we see anybody, we

immediately take them into custody."

Zoffinger said he's looking into beefing up security at the stadium during

Jets games in an effort to control the incidents.

The NFL didn't return calls from FOXNews.com seeking comment. New Jersey

State Police, who patrol the Giants Stadium games with the Meadowlands

staff, didn't directly address the Jets games ritual, but said troopers deal

with legal infractions when they occur.

"We enforce the laws, and that's our responsibility," state police

spokeswoman Jeanne Hengemuhle told FOXNews.com. "If we see the law being

broken, we act accordingly."

Amateur videos of men haranguing women in the Gate D section of the stadium

during Jets games and women responding by exposing their breasts initially

appeared on YouTube, but by Tuesday afternoon they'd been removed from the

site.

Feminist writer Naomi Wolf lambasted the "Girls Gone Wild" types of stadium

shenanigans as "barbaric" and "reprehensible," and said the practice could

lead to sexual violence.

"This is the sign of the degradation of public morality in America," the

"Beauty Myth" author fumed during a FOX News Channel panel discussion. "I

don't want my daughter to be exposed to this."

The practice is apparently mostly limited to Jets home games at Giants

Stadium. Insiders say they aren't aware of it happening at Giants games.

"The NJSEA has assured us that they will address this conduct at all

Meadowlands events," said the Jets' Higgins. "We will not allow a small

minority of people to ruin the experience for our fans and will be

monitoring the situation."

The NFL is no stranger to the problem of public breast-baring, thanks to the

very famous and very costly halftime show "wardrobe malfunction" number by

Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake during the 2004 Super Bowl on CBS.

"Football is about one thing - it's about testosterone," Steve Mason of 710

ESPN Radio told FOX News. "This isn't especially shocking. I don't think you

want to bring the kids to Gate D any time soon."

Click here to read the full report in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/sports/football/20fans.html?_r=1&n=Top/News/Sports/Pro%20Football/National%20Football%20League/New%20York%20Jets&oref=slogin

While I don't condone such actions.......it's a football game you stupid

cunt.

I would think you'd see such behavior as manly.

"Patriot Games" <Patriot@America.com> wrote in message

news:47442d04$0$9581$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...

> http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312382,00.html

>

> NFL, Giants Stadium in Hot Water for Breast-Baring Ritual Among Fans

> Tuesday, November 20, 2007

>

> Giants Stadium management, the National Football League and the New York

> Jets are in the hot seat over a practice that has become a halftime ritual

> at Jets games: lewd, drunken male fans shouting at women to expose their

> breasts.

>

> The men whoop, whistle, chant and stomp for female fans to lift up their

> shirts and bras, often shouting obscenities in the process. Some women

> comply with the jeering requests.

>

> When the male spectators don't get their wish, they frequently grow

nasty -

> booing, spitting and throwing beer bottles at the women they're targeting.

>

> The story, which was first reported Tuesday by The New York Times, has

> caused a public outcry and led the New York Jets to issue a statement

about

> the behavior.

>

> "This type of conduct on one of the stadium spirals is outrageous and

> unacceptable," said Jets senior vice president of business operations Matt

> Higgins. "We have spoken with NJSEA [New Jersey Sports and Exposition

> Authority] officials and demanded that they take steps immediately to

ensure

> that it does not happen again."

>

> The NJSEA, which runs operations at Giants Stadium and The Meadowlands

> complex where it's located, acknowledged that the bawdy ritual has been a

> problem and said security staff and New Jersey State Police are doing what

> they can to stop it.

>

> "This is not something new to us in terms of dealing with rowdy fan

> behavior," NJSEA President and CEO George Zoffinger told FOXNews.com.

> "Anybody who uses vulgar language or is intoxicated or acting in an

improper

> manner is either ejected or arrested."

>

> Zoffinger said that for the 2007 football season, eight women were tossed

> out of Giants Stadium for indecent exposure, seven of them from Jets games

> and one from a Giants game. So far, he said, a total of 148 people have

been

> thrown out of Jets games and 35 have been arrested for bad behavior,

> compared to 174 ejections and 44 arrests at Giants games.

>

> But punishing the males for their derogatory cat-calling isn't easy, he

> contended, partly because of the large number of raucous fans at games and

> partly because cheering doesn't necessarily warrant disciplinary action if

> it isn't accompanied by indecent language, object-throwing or other

behavior

> that is against the law.

>

> "In a crowd of people chanting, it is extremely difficult to single out a

> person you would eject or arrest," said Zoffinger. "We crack down as much

as

> we can. If a crowd of 100 is chanting, 'Take off your top!', we try to

> convince them it's not a good idea. We often get ridiculed for trying to

do

> that. But as abhorrent as it is, I'm not sure it's a crime. ... We can

only

> do so much."

>

> One thing they can do, he said, is nab the women who bare their breasts

and

> the men who pressure them by using obscenities.

>

> "We arrest the women because that's a crime," Zoffinger said. "If [the

men]

> say, 'Show me your f- t-, we can arrest them. If there is bad, vulgar

> language involved, yes, we do eject them, every single time. ... Boorish

> behavior will not be tolerated."

>

> The breast-baring problem isn't at the top of the list of security

concerns

> at The Meadowlands, which handles 2 million visitors a year - the most of

> any sports arenas in the United States, according to Zoffinger.

>

> "We run one of the safest stadiums in the country," he said. "As abhorrent

> as this behavior is, it does not pose a safety and security issue. I don't

> think the security staff looks the other way. If we see anybody, we

> immediately take them into custody."

>

> Zoffinger said he's looking into beefing up security at the stadium during

> Jets games in an effort to control the incidents.

>

> The NFL didn't return calls from FOXNews.com seeking comment. New Jersey

> State Police, who patrol the Giants Stadium games with the Meadowlands

> staff, didn't directly address the Jets games ritual, but said troopers

deal

> with legal infractions when they occur.

>

> "We enforce the laws, and that's our responsibility," state police

> spokeswoman Jeanne Hengemuhle told FOXNews.com. "If we see the law being

> broken, we act accordingly."

>

> Amateur videos of men haranguing women in the Gate D section of the

stadium

> during Jets games and women responding by exposing their breasts initially

> appeared on YouTube, but by Tuesday afternoon they'd been removed from the

> site.

>

> Feminist writer Naomi Wolf lambasted the "Girls Gone Wild" types of

stadium

> shenanigans as "barbaric" and "reprehensible," and said the practice could

> lead to sexual violence.

>

> "This is the sign of the degradation of public morality in America," the

> "Beauty Myth" author fumed during a FOX News Channel panel discussion. "I

> don't want my daughter to be exposed to this."

>

> The practice is apparently mostly limited to Jets home games at Giants

> Stadium. Insiders say they aren't aware of it happening at Giants games.

>

> "The NJSEA has assured us that they will address this conduct at all

> Meadowlands events," said the Jets' Higgins. "We will not allow a small

> minority of people to ruin the experience for our fans and will be

> monitoring the situation."

>

> The NFL is no stranger to the problem of public breast-baring, thanks to

the

> very famous and very costly halftime show "wardrobe malfunction" number by

> Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake during the 2004 Super Bowl on CBS.

>

> "Football is about one thing - it's about testosterone," Steve Mason of

710

> ESPN Radio told FOX News. "This isn't especially shocking. I don't think

you

> want to bring the kids to Gate D any time soon."

>

> Click here to read the full report in The New York Times:

>

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/sports/football/20fans.html?_r=1&n=Top/News/Sports/Pro%20Football/National%20Football%20League/New%20York%20Jets&oref=slogin

>

>

>