FAN BOOTED FOR WANTING TO TINKLE SUES

Last August, Bradford Campeau-Laurion, was booted from Yankee Stadium for leaving his seat in hopes of using the bathroom during the 7th inning stretch singing of God Bless America. According to Laurion, he was met by a police officer who told him to return to his seat for the duration of the song. When he refused, he was promptly ejected from the building. I was unaware of this, but apparently, there was a policy that restricted movement in Yankee Stadium (I assume it is still in effect at the new building) during the song. Well, Laurion has taken it to the courts and is suing the New York Yankees for religious and political discrimination.

Now while I don't agree with different policies and things that have been going on in Washington this last decade (i.e. The Bush administration), I do thank God for allowing me to grow up in this country. Think of all the places we could have been born! So, I respect the gesture of rising, removing your cap, and honoring America for a couple minutes. I think on a personal level, it's probably the right thing to wait to move around till these patriotic songs are over. They are only a couple minutes long.

However, that's on a personal level, and there are no laws saying you have to acknowledge these songs. So, unless Laurion was drunk (as the Yankees claim) and cursed out the cop, I hope he wins his lawsuit against the team that thinks they are all high and mighty. I have a major problem with the Yankees taking the law into their own hands. There is no reason to eject a fan who gets up during God Bless America. It is your first amendment right to protest these songs if you'd like. I'm sure the cop was irrated by Laurion's response, but the cops are there to enforce the law, not to abuse their power on someone who doesn't have the same views.

Also, I think the Yankees are the only team that plays the song on a nightly basis, and most of the time they play a very impersonal recording from the 1930s. If you pay your hard earned money to get to a game (and it is really hard earned if you can afford Yankee games), you should be able to roam around whenever you feel. I'm surprised incidents like this haven't happened before to be honest. I'm sure 99% of people aren't even protesting the song. They just want to get up in between innings. So I ask, who do the Yankees think they are trying to keep 50,000 people locked into their seats during the song?

Pat Morgan