Arizona Cardinals Apologize For Security Guard Forcing Fan To Throw MAGA Hat In Garbage
An Arizona Cardinals season-ticket holder claims that a security guard at State Farm Stadium made her throw away her "Make America Great Again" hat or she and her husband wouldn't be allowed to attend the team's game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
The woman, speaking to a local news station, said she ultimately agreed to throw the hat away because she didn't want to jeopardize their standing as season-ticket holders.
However, she says she wished she hadn't done that.
"I thought [the security guard] was joking," she said before realizing that the female guard wasn't kidding.
"She said, ‘No political hats or shirts,’" the fan said of the security guard before noting that she had never heard that from someone at State Farm Stadium before.
The news broadcaster pointed out that the security for the stadium is contracted out to a third-party company, so the guard was not an employee of the stadium or the Arizona Cardinals.
While the Cardinals do have a list of banned items for entering State Farm Stadium on game days, "political hats or shirts" are not on that list.
The Arizona Cardinals apologized to a season-ticket holder who was told by a security guard that she couldn't wear a MAGA hat inside State Farm Stadium.
(Joe Rondone/The Republic/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
"In retrospect, I wish I would have stood my ground," the fan continued, after noting that she threw the hat in the garbage so that she and her husband could attend the game without further incident.
"I wasn't sure what the repercussions would be, and my husband would kill me if I did something [to lose] the season tickets."
Although the security guard did not work for the stadium or the team, the fan said she spoke to a guest services representative who reiterated that MAGA hats are not allowed inside State Farm Stadium during Arizona Cardinals games.
However, like the security guard, the rep was incorrect.
The team issued a statement to the local news station, 12 News, that initially reported the fan's story.
"In an isolated incident at Sunday's game, a stadium security member misunderstood a policy on prohibited items," the statement said.
"Like most venues, ‘signage, posters, flags, or displays that are….political in nature’ are not permitted. However, that did not apply in this instance.
"Moving forward, we will work to provide clarity to all stadium personnel in these situations," the Cardinals' statement continued. "We have also reached out to the individual involved to communicate that their experience was not consistent with our policies and practices and to apologize for that."
Smart of the team to get out in front of this because the last thing the NFL needs is for a large section of its fanbase to believe it is being discriminated against.
And despite Democrat Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz claiming that his party is "taking football back," any reasonable person understands that the majority of football fans are not left-wingers.
The NFL took a massive hit in viewership and popularity after the Colin Kaepernick debacle, and it looks like the league learned its lesson.