Calling fans on bad behavior
Bengals create policy to report problems in stands
Posted: Tuesday August 8, 2006 3:04PM; Updated: Tuesday August 8, 2006 5:18PM
CINCINNATI (AP) -- The Cincinnati Bengals are giving fans a way to deal with belligerent jerks who spoil the game for everybody else.
Starting with Sunday's preseason opener with the Washington Redskins, obnoxious behavior in the stands could prompt a cell phone call to the jerk patrol.
A call to 381-JERK will alert security to check out the complaint on camera, then in person if action is warranted.
Fans using too much foul language will get a warning. Those who continue could be ejected and have their season tickets and personal seat licenses taken away. More serious offenses could lead to arrest.
"We're not going to be the curse police. You need to understand you're coming to an NFL football game," said Bob Bedinghaus, the Bengals' director of development for Paul Brown Stadium. "On the other hand, we want to make sure that we're paying attention to those folks who are going over the line."
There are 38 video cameras in the stadium, and more than 500 security personnel at each game, he said.
"We have more than enough cameras to zoom in on every position in the seating bowl -- close enough that we can clearly get photographic images of the people sitting there," Bedinghaus said.
Fans have complained to team officials that beer is increasing the problem with misbehavior in the stands.
"They were complaints (of) excessive drunkenness. People that were kind of falling down drunk," Bedinghaus said. "And there were some fights last year. Whenever you put 65,000 people together, you're always going to have some fights. But there were a few more than normal."
Jeanie Dittrich of West Chester, a season ticket holder, said she was offended by drunken fans when she took her 12-year-old son, Austin, to a playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A woman kept spilling beer on her, and a man next to her son was swearing and helped start a fight.
"We told him beforehand, 'You might see some drunk people, you might hear some ... swearing,"' Dittrich said. "But at the game, I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, I'm going to mar my son for the rest of his life by having him come to this game.' It was so bad."
Season ticket holders will be notified about the hot line this week, as well as the consequences of bad behavior. The team will show a video promoting the hot line at home games.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Tuesday that about a half dozen teams have something similar. The Philadelphia Eagles pioneered the concept about two years ago.
"We will continue to monitor the use of these hot lines," McCarthy said. "We are always trying to improve the experience of other fans and if it works, then we certainly would provide information on best practices for other clubs."
Bedinghaus said the Bengals expect some prank calls.
"If you get 6,000 people calling this line -- 'Hey, (Steelers quarterback) Ben Roethlisberger is a jerk' -- then it becomes less effective," he said. "The thing to remember is we have caller ID on this line. So if you're crank calling, we are going to be able to ID who you are."
It's not just unruly fans the Bengals have to worry about. Five of their players have gotten in trouble with the law in the past three months.
Guard Eric Steinbach appeared in court in suburban northern Kentucky on Tuesday to enter a not guilty plea to a charge of boating under the influence.
Wide receiver Chris Henry has been arrested four times since December, and is to go on trial later this month in Orlando, Fla., on a gun charge.
Two draft picks, defensive end Frostee Rucker and linebacker A.J. Nicholson, got arrested even before signing contracts -- Rucker was accused of spousal battery, and Nicholson was accused of burglary and grand theft.
Cincinnati police used a stun gun on third-year defensive tackle Matthias Askew last month and charged him with resisting arrest.
Middle linebacker Odell Thurman, while not charged with breaking any law, has been suspended for the first four games of the regular season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.
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