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Police Eject Fan For Trying to Pee During National Anthem

gothamist.com — A baseball fan says a uniformed police officer (perhaps off-duty but working security for overtime) forcibly ejected him from the stadium last night during the Yankees-Red Sox game. Why? He says all he did was try to go to the bathroom while "God Bless America" was played during the 7th inning stretch.

Who dugg this? Made popular Aug 27, 2008

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  • iPirate, on 08/27/2008, -7/+511"God Bless America" isn't our National Anthem.
  • trer, on 08/27/2008, -2/+131Forced patriotism is false patriotism.
  • almk, on 08/27/2008, -10/+130Who the hell cares whether you take a piss during God Bless America or a dump during the national anthem. Is our country so blinded by zeal for the fatherland that we ignore basic human decency and common sense?

    Oh, right, I guess they are Yankees fans....
  • mnemy, on 08/27/2008, -21/+134***** patriotic zealots. It's even worse when it's someone wearing a badge. If you fight back you're hosed.
  • spongeworthy, on 08/27/2008, -6/+117Although the Yankees are not the government and therefore have the right to restrict free speech on their private property, using uniformed NYPD cops to enforce those same policies changes everything: the strong-arm tactics employed by the police here constitutes state action, rendering the city (but not the Yankees) subject to liability in a civil right action.

    Freedom of Speech protects unpopular, minority views. Majority views don't need this protection because they have the force of numbers . . . and the badge and the gun . . . to beat down anyone who dares to disagree with them.

    I have been a Yankees fan since Mickey Mantle was in his prime, and I was raised with many relatives and friends who worked for the NYPD, but I'm disenchanted, if not disgusted, with the Yankees and the NYPD these days. The Stadium experience is nowhere near what it was all those years ago, and it will only get worse when the new Stadium -- which will be unaffordable to real fans -- opens next year. Maybe they should hire Blackwater for security.
  • offthewagon, on 08/27/2008, -2/+69Amusing, since Yankee Stadium's nickname is "The Toilet."
  • aaronadms, on 08/27/2008, -18/+82Wait, he got thrown out for trying to go to the bathroom during the 7th inning stretch? I don't buy this story.
  • filemeaway, on 08/27/2008, -3/+62Crazy. Seems like something that would have been on Seinfeld.
  • jukeboxgraduate, on 08/27/2008, -2/+61Yankee Stadium does have a documented policy of preventing people from walking around during "God Bless America," which they play at EVERY game. They claim that fans complained to them about it. However, I understood it was only enforced on the lower level. I personally make a point of doing the same thing this person did, running to the bathroom, the once or twice a year I am at the House of Evil.

    It has nothing to do with baseball, and everything to do with the Yankees.

    here's a link to the NY Times story:
    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/sports/baseball/ ...

    FWIW, I was at Busch Stadium in St. Louis last Friday, and during "God Bless America," which they sang before the National Anthem, they stopped taking tickets/ letting people into the stadium. People were walking around and they didn't try to stop them, but people who worked there did stop working. That doesn't bother me as much as this does.

  • cricketsymphony, on 08/27/2008, -10/+64i don't know why anyone watches baseball period
  • inactive, on 08/27/2008, -7/+55Frankly, the health department should tell them to either remove their policy or be shut down.

    This is a health hazard.
  • inactive, on 08/27/2008, -6/+40Agreed. Buried for horrible mistake.
  • AnarchoGoth, on 08/27/2008, -3/+37They are not patriots, they are nationalists.

    Patriotism is love of country.
    Nationalism is love of government.

    If you really love your country, you hate all who would curtail liberty.
  • dinostabOMG, on 08/27/2008, -1/+35"It is still a dumb policy, but if its posted and ignored, do so at your own risk."

    In other words, bend over and take it. Americans have become too accustomed to taking orders without question. What am I going to do, arrive at the stadium and spend 10 minutes reviewing the policy on the wall before I go look for my seat? What if I disagree with one of the provisions? Who am I going to find with whom to argue for a refund while the game continues?
  • anagoge, on 08/27/2008, -5/+36GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.
  • mohsenxp, on 08/27/2008, -10/+40Welcome to Nazi Germany.
  • bouche, on 08/27/2008, -17/+45If this really happened, and there is such a policy, I don't know why anyone watches baseball.
  • inactive, on 08/27/2008, -7/+34Thank God it isn't!
  • aaronadms, on 08/27/2008, -3/+29No, I read the description, and immediately jumped to the conclusion that this was BS. Thanks for clearing it up for me!

    I thought the 7th inning stretch was specifically created to give fans a chance to get up and go get food/use the restroom. And if remember the last time I went to a Braves game correctly, they played "Take me out to the Ball Game" not " God Bless America". Maybe both?

    I'm gonna go read this article now that I've commented on it twice!
  • StabmasterArson, on 08/27/2008, -1/+25He should have used good old American ingenuity and pissed on the guy in front of him.
  • ProjectGSX, on 08/27/2008, -16/+39Did you read the entire article? At the bottom, there is a link to the New York Times who did a piece about this policy back in 2007. You are not allowed to leave your seat during either the National Anthem or God Bless America.

    Anyways, if the policy is posted and the guy just decided to ignore him, then he brought this on himself. It is still a dumb policy, but if its posted and ignored, do so at your own risk.
  • vinibinini, on 08/27/2008, -1/+23Cough Post 9/11 patroitism Cough
  • inactive, on 08/27/2008, -1/+23land of the free my ass
  • bigcynic, on 08/27/2008, -1/+21"SHUT THE ***** UP AND STAND THE ***** STILL WHILE WE SING THIS SONG ABOUT HOW FREE WE ARE!"
  • paulsabo, on 08/27/2008, -4/+23What utter asshats...
  • spyd3rweb, on 08/27/2008, -5/+23What if I don't want God blessing America?
  • Tayloristehsux, on 08/27/2008, -0/+18Nationalism FTL
  • inactive, on 08/27/2008, -1/+18I was at that game last night and saw him getting thrown out. I was in lower seats and could see a ruckus in the upper seats to my left. I just assumed it was a fight that had gotten broken up because there were at least 4 other fights in the crowd all over the stadium.
  • lepster10101, on 08/27/2008, -11/+28Welcome to Nazi America sponsored by the republican party & Fox News
  • whataboutdave, on 08/27/2008, -5/+22Happily. Wall of Separation FTW.
  • depro9, on 08/27/2008, -1/+17http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuOBf-39t64

    R.I.P
  • DigxDug, on 08/27/2008, -24/+40YANKEES SUCK!
  • inactive, on 08/27/2008, -0/+14The linked article clearly states that the fan wanted to pee during "God Bless America," not the "Star-Spangled Banner" (MrBabyMan messed up).
  • 0Xonox0, on 08/27/2008, -1/+15Because in America, patriotism comes before bodily functions.
  • inactive, on 08/27/2008, -4/+17Yankee fans are freaking annoying
  • absurdist, on 08/28/2008, -2/+15knowitman, how much in public funding was used to build that "private venue"? How much land was seized through eminent domain to build that "private venue"? If so much as one red cent of public money was used, your argument holds no validity whatsoever.
  • inactive, on 08/27/2008, -0/+13Um, I don't think that fans should get ejected like that no matter what.
  • jmcneilly, on 08/27/2008, -3/+16José can you?
    Si!
  • ChronicColonic, on 08/27/2008, -13/+26Oh say will you let me pee?
  • inactive, on 08/27/2008, -0/+12Oh - I thought he just whipped it out and started pissing as they were singing - how disapointing.
  • Mikkel04, on 08/27/2008, -11/+23It's a good story, but I have to bury it as inaccurate/ignorant. If you don't know what the national anthem is, you shouldn't be judging other people. Resubmit it with an accurate headline and I'll digg it.
  • DonnyW, on 08/27/2008, -1/+12fail cops abound
  • YoctoYotta, on 08/28/2008, -2/+13The patron should have had every right to tell that cop to shove his god up his ass if he so pleased. I'm not saying that's good or bad taste, just saying he should have had the right.
  • tiberone, on 08/27/2008, -1/+11"Yes I know what the Stars and Stripes is"

    Also not our national anthem.
  • Chilapox, on 08/27/2008, -0/+10I love America.
    I think the best part about it is that I'm not forced to show everyone else how much I love it by the government.
    One of the basic principles that this country was built upon is that people should be able to do whatever the hell they want unless it violates someone else's rights.

    And as far as I know, not wanting to express patriotism or even not being patriotic doesn't violate anyone's rights.
  • GorfTron, on 08/27/2008, -1/+117th Reich stretcher.
  • mofw, on 08/27/2008, -1/+11Jingoism = Extreme nationalism characterized especially by a belligerent foreign policy
  • tamman2000, on 08/27/2008, -2/+11That statement reveals that you do not love the founding principles of our country.

    Please leave
  • StreetPreacher, on 08/28/2008, -0/+8Yet more of that there "Freedom" that them Mooslims hate us for.
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