A rather fluid first amendment controversy is brewing over police conduct at the Yankee stadium. Fan Brad Campeau-Laurion says that when he tried to go to the bathroom during the singing of “God Bless America,” he was roughed up a bit and then thrown out of the stadium. It appears that this has been a long complaint by fans over a sing-or-get-out policy by George Steinbrenner.
Campeau-Laurion recounts an encounter during the seventh inning stretch in the Yankees-Red Sox game. “God Bless America” was playing when nature called. An officer allegedly told him, however, that he could not leave even on such an urgent matter because he had to sing or at least listen to the song. When Campeau-Laurion said that he didn’t care about “God Bless America” right now, the officer allegedly twisted his arm behind him and eventually with the help of another officer tossed him out.
Here is his account:
As I attempted to walk down the aisle and exit my section into the tunnel, I was stopped by a police officer. He informed me that I had to wait until the song was over. I responded that I had to use the restroom and that I did not care about God Bless America.
“As soon as the latter came out of my mouth, my right arm was twisted violently behind my back and I was informed that I was being escorted out of the stadium. A second officer then joined in and twisted my left arm, also in an excessively forceful manner, behind my back. I informed them they were violating my First Amendment rights and that I had done nothing wrong, with no response from them.“I was sitting in the Tier Level, and of course this is the highest level of the stadium and I was escorted in this painful manner down the entire length of the stadium. About halfway down, I informed them that they were hurting me, repeated that I had done nothing wrong, and that I was not resisting nor talking back to them. One of them said something to the effect that if I continued to speak, he would find a way to hurt me more.
“When we reached the exit of the stadium, they confiscated my ticket and the first officer shoved me through the turnstiles, saying ‘Get the hell out of my country if you don’t like it.'”
This would appear facially ridiculous except for the fact that others have apparently objected to the same policy and treatment. The subject is an atheist who, for obvious reasons, is not a fan of the song. To make matters worse, he was reportedly an atheist Red Sox fan.
The New York Times wrote about the policy which Steinbrenner said was the result of citizens complaining that people were moving about during the singing of “God Bless America, here. The security guards are off-duty police officers.
Of course for an atheist at the limit of his bladder, singing about “To the oceans, white with foam” can be excruciating. It does present in interesting legal issue. While these are police officer, they are off-duty. This is, therefore, a private action and not governmental action under the first amendment. Without state action, the constitutional question is difficult to raise. There remains tort and statutory options, however.
For more on the story, click here.
“This is the United States of America. Therefore everyone in this country should know that the Constitution and the Amendments were based on One Nation Under God! It is on our U.S. currency. If you choose not to believe or respect what this country was founded on….”
Yeah!
Good thing the Founding Fathers had a time machine and were able to look ahead to the 1950’s when they put “In God We Trust” on the currency; eh?
This land is your land, this land is my land….
Etc.
Guthrie’s response to “God Bless America.”
This is the United States of America. Therefore everyone in this country should know that the Constitution and the Amendments were based on One Nation Under God! It is on our U.S. currency. If you choose not to believe or respect what this country was founded on….
GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM!!!! It is evident to me that you must not like it here. Go to your own homeland and see what kind of freedoms you have there. I an a Christian, I do believe what this country was founded on, and I also know that if you are an atheist, you had better WAKE-UP! God will only tolerate so much. If you read the BIBLE you would know that He is warning you. Take a look at the economy, the natural destruction of this planet, the crimes….Brother against Brother. Everything that Revelations says is happening just as God said. Remember, You can not escape this world alive. I will be praying that God will have mercy upon you and that you will see the light. When you do, everything will make sense to you. I have no idea how a non- believer can make it in this world as it is today, not only in America, but anywhere on earth. God also made Christians’ with a loving heart, and although I don’t know you, I have a great love for you because I know the despair that you must be in.
If the officer was in uniform and or acting on or behalf of the city, or the Stadium managment, then his actions easily constitute unlawful detainment.
If he was acting in no offical capacity, his actions as far as I can tell, constitute kidnapping.
As Mike Spindell pointed out;
To me this is as much an issue of assault and battery, as it is a violation of free speech. The man had to go to the bathroom. Was he supposed to urinate in his pants, so as not to disturb the solemnity of the song?
Indeed the person was assaulted if the officer was acting in no official capacity. But further, he physically restricted this persons movement and effectively “kidnapped” him for the duration of the song.
It would seem to me that incredible civil liability is evident if the officer was acting for and on behalf of the city or stadium, and if not, then criminal charges should be forthcoming.
It is a sad day indeed in America, when songs about America take precedence over the freedoms they are designed to herald.
Magno,
I don’t even join in on the pledge. I refuse to take part in those 20 seconds of self brain washing. I stand quietly with my hands behind my back, and if I’m wearing one I take off my hat, But that’s out of respect for the etiquette of the situation. I understand that for some people it’s an important and I respect their right to make that sort of gesture, so I don’t disturb them. To me however, the idea that I should pledge my support anything, no matter what happens, is just wrong.
Does it make a difference that if the officer was wearing his uniform while on an off-duty paid detail? The uniform presumes (or is meant to present) an aura/image of authority of the City of New York. If the officer was indeed “off duty” does the uniform and what the uniform represents ever go “off duty”?
FYI: I don’t sing along with God Bless America at Fenway, and I may or may not stand up for it – depending on the amount of crap sent my way by other God Fearing Americans(tm), but I will never crack wise at someone else singing or standing for it. It boils down to personal choice and personal freedom. It is NOT the National Anthem. It is NOT the Pledge of Allegiance. It is just a song, and unless Ethel Merman is coming back to sing it – I’m not joining in.
To me this is as much an issue of assault and battery, as it is a violation of free speech. The man had to go to the bathroom. Was he supposed to urinate in his pants, so as not to disturb the solemnity of the song? The uplifting of a patriotic song to this status, is yet another example of the hypocrisy and totalitarian bent of the Right Wing in out country. It’s a song, damn it, and not even a good one as
Gyges stated.
I personally do not stand for the national anthem and refuse to recite the pledge of allegiance, at public events. This is precisely because I am a patriot and a person who loves this country. America should not be about phony symbolism and jingoism. It should be about a country, that despite falling far short of its’ ideals, is in the process of a unique experiment in human history. This gives me a further reason to stay out of Yankee Stadium.
Truth be told, as a lifelong baseball fan and New Yorker, I hate the Yankees. Beyond the team, I loathe George Steinbrenner, who is the quintessential example of being born on third base and thinking he hit a triple. This is the man who was guilty of giving illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon. A man who delights in humiliating his employees, firing and then rehiring them, only to fire them again. A man who inherited the largest shipbuilding company in the world and bankrupted it with his incompetence.
He bought the most valuable baseball team in the world for $10 million, a bargain price, from CBS. The real buyer, deal maker and president of the ballclub was to be his friend Michael Burke, who he then dumped. Burke was the one who convinced him to buy the club.
Steinbrenner is a thoroughly loathsome man, whose son Hank now carries on his father’s excess. That this team is Rudy Giulani’s favorite, says all that needs to be said about it.
Oh man, oh man, oh man. I wish this happened in Chicago so I could sue some more cops!!!!!!!
And what the fuck, that’s not even the national anthem. Next thing you know they’ll be man-handling people for farting during some stupid redneck song at a NASCAR race.
Make that “Anyone”
I think we’re missing the bigger issue here, why were they having everyone sing such a terribly written piece of music?
Assault, kidnapping and theft warrants might be fun. Add conspiracy or procurement and invite Steinbrenner to the party as well.
RB, I agree. Chris, the contracting out of security, for which this govt. is famous, is a scary thing. Blackwater is claiming immunity from US and Iraqi law in court for just this reason. I believe this is one important reason why much of law enforcement, military duties and prison sites are privatized by the administration–to create zones of without accountability.
So riddle me this..What’s the difference between being thrown out of Yankee Stadium because you need to go vs. being arrested for “social dangerousness”….
nothing.
One other point. Your freedom of speech can be constrained by the rights of others to freedom of speech. It’s a grey zone, but you don’t want unpopular speakers to be silenced by others shouting them down.
Again, it’s time/manner/place. Shouting down the guy on the street corner who’s rallying people to sign a recall petition is one thing. Shutting down the guys with bullhorns standing outside of a funeral is another.
I’m sure our host can clarify this, but the First Amendment isn’t a blanket right. It only applies to government entities, in fact or in practice, and it can still be restricted by reasonable limits on time, manner and place. There can also statutory limits provided the restrictions are content-agnostic, and the purpose must be to balance the right of the speaker with the rights of the listeners/victims to peaceful enjoyment.
The classic example is the guy with a bull-horn outside your bedroom at 2 AM. He might have the right to protest your profession (e.g., ob-gyn that will perform abortions), but you and your neighbors have the right to get some sleep. So a reasonable time/manner/place restriction could be that protests can only be from 8 AM to 8 PM, and only with unamplified voices.
So a guy holding up a sign at the stadium could be ejected if he’s blocking the view of other patrons, etc. But walking to the bathroom? No way.
The cops were off-duty, but isn’t that a public accomodation that’s been heavily subsidized by taxpayer money? Doesn’t that put patrons under the penumbra of Constitutional protection? The alternative is to have the government get around Constitutional restraints by simply subcontracting the work.
As for the “rest of the story”, the article makes it clear. He’s not the first person ejected. One incident begs the question of whether the guy did something to provoke (or “provoke”) security. Multiple incidents puts the onus on the facility.
If Disney has to let employees bring in guns because of the 2nd ammendment why doesn’t Yankee stadium have to honor the first? Further, since god is the god of nature, who is George Steinbrenner to hinder the laws of god?
If corporations are persons, one person may not hinder the free speech of another person. Or are some persons more equal than another?
Piss on that crappy stadium!
With a performance like the one during this series, the Yankees had best be strong-arming people back into the stadium.
and the rest of the story is ……….?
Let’s get the other sides version.