The Arizona Cardinals football team is saying “sorry” to a woman who was made to take off her “Make America Great Again” hat and throw it away in order to be admitted to the game in the State Farm Stadium on September 15.
Susan Rosener, who lives in Arizona and holds season tickets for the Cardinals, said she and her husband were on their way to their seats on Sunday when a stadium employee approached her. The woman told Rosener “you can’t bring that in here,” Rosener said, which left her confused. Rosener said she had never heard of such a rule, but the stadium employee told her “no political hats or shirts.”
From Rosener’s description, the employee seemed to take an aggressive and authoritarian tone, stating, “I said take your hat off.” Rosener said she wishes she had been bolder and that she had “stood my ground a little bit,” but that she was worried about consequences if she defended her right to wear the hat.
The Arizona Cardinals, though not responsible for the behavior of the stadium employee, has apologized to Rosener. In a statement sent to the press, the team said that a stadium security guard had overzealously enforced a rule against signs or posters or other displays that are “political in nature.” Most large sports venues have such rules to cut down on distracting political displays that may lead to conflict, but those rules are not usually interpreted to mean that attendees cannot wear hats or shirts with a political message.
The security guard’s attitude may also have something to do with the political polarization in America. Democrats and those who lean left are particularly incensed by the MAGA slogan, as it comes from Donald Trump, who many believe is as dangerous as some of the worst 20th century dictators.
The Cardinals said they would be working with stadium staff to clarify the rules and prevent conflicts like this one in the future.
The team does have a list of banned items that cannot be brought to the State Farm Stadium, but hats and shirts are not on it.
Back in 2021, staff removed a man named Dion Cini from three separate baseball stadiums for hanging a banner from his seat that proclaimed “Trump won! Save America!”
