Fans sue to stop NFL pat downs

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=6586775

Interesting case. A pair of NFL fans in San Francisco are suing the 49ers for invasion of privacy because of their policy to pat down all fans entering stadiums.

It's an interesting case of how do we as a society balance one's right to privacy with the need for security.

I, for one, always hate getting patted down at NFL games. I hate it when Sam's Club makes me show them my receipt for the items I just purchased.

I understand why they do it and know that there's at least some need for it, but I just hate being treated like a criminal when I am not one. I think that, in many ways, goes against the ideals our country was founded upon.

I also get the sneaking suspicion that the reason for NFL pat downs has more to do with preventing people from sneaking beer into the stadium and forcing them to pay $8.25 for a Bud Light than it does security.

Tough case.

 

It ain't a right to go to an NFL game, so I would tell plaintiffs to fuck off.

But, I think some similar case went fans' way in Tampa a few years ago.

 

I feel like pat downs are more strict after 9/11, so saying the cost of a beer has anything to do with it is absurd.

Anyway, if it helps make the stadium safer, I am all for it. Pat me down all you like. Just don't get too friendly.

 

Some weeks the pat down was the most action I could get.

 

Ding, ding, ding.

 

They didn't institute the pat downs until 2005, four years after 9/11, so suggesting that's what prompted it is equally absurd.

If it was truly about safety, and not checking for smuggled beers, wouldn't they have metal detectors instead of pat downs? Bomb sniffing dogs?

Can they really tell if you have 12 sticks of dynamite strapped to your chest when you're wearing four layers of shirts and a winter jacket? Of course not. But they can probably feel if you have a beer in your pocket.

The more I think about it, the less pat downs make me feel any safer.

 

Is there any proof it makes the stadium safer?

And having all the fans attend naked would make the stadium safer too. Except at Jets games.

 

Damn.
On another note, it's good to pat down some of these bozos. I don't want to sit next to a guy who is packing, getting tanked and watching his team get drilled. It's not a good combination.

 

Often, the level of security employed is dictated by insurance considerations. Pat downs probably mean a lower terrorism insurance rate for the NFL team and the stadium.

 

I was patted down at three games in 2001. The last three NFL games I went to. I'm a Lions fan, so that's why I don't go to NFL games anymore. Anyway, it's been going on before 2005.

 

This case specifically involves the 49ers and according to the story, they began in 2005. Lions don't matter at all in this discussion. Perhaps you ought to read the story before commenting further?

 

So you've been to a Raiders game, then?