Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ... or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble ...
The above passage appears on the opinion page of this paper every time we publish.
It's the First Amendment to our Constitution.
It's symbolizes the freedom and greatness of our country.
It's important.
But apparently, the Southern Tier Athletic Conference, which includes Oneonta High among its 20 schools, doesn't think very highly of the document our forefathers drew up.
According to a front page story in Tuesday's Press & Sun-Bulletin, STAC President Richard Stank said the conference wants to ban booing and derogatory comments during athletic events. As many as seven pages of changes to STAC's code of conduct dealing with crowd control could be added, basically telling paying customers to do nothing more than sit in their seats like robots.
And Big Brother will be watching. If STAC's superintendents pass this measure to be voted on Dec. 1, staff members from schools will monitor the crowd, making sure spectators are being good little boys and girls.
Before we get any further, the reasoning behind the proposed changes stem from an incident during a Horseheads-Vestal junior varsity girls soccer game Oct. 4.
Those on Horseheads' side claim that a Vestal fan (or fans) made racial slurs. Vestal claimed it was a misunderstanding.
Both schools investigated the incident and the state's Division of Human Rights is also looking into the matter.
Look, if slurs were made it's reprehensible and those responsible deserve whatever punishment comes their way.
That said, whenever adults start sticking their noses into issues, they invariably take a bad situation and make it worse.
Punishing all STAC fans for the possible actions of one or two nitwits makes no sense. It'd be like banning cell phones (something I'd be in favor of, by the way) because one person got hit by a bus while on the phone.
If this proposal passes, the first thing we'll need to do is decide what constitutes derogatory.
Say a player from Team A steps to the free throw line and the cheerleaders from Team B chant, "He won't make it! He won't make it! He won't make it! No! No! No!" Should the cheerleaders from Team B be escorted from the building?
Or if a fan tells the referee he's missing a good game, is that grounds for dismissal?
I wonder how many of these Booing/Derogatory Comment Police will be on hand. Perhaps they'll be armed with duct tape, ready to silence the booers at a moment's notice.
Obviously, these examples are ridiculous, but no more than STAC's proposal.
Imagine if someone made a similar proposal to the fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where Duke plays its home games, or about anywhere else Division I college basketball is played.
Booing the opposition is a time-honored tradition. When a rival comes into an opponent's gym, it is supposed to feel uncomfortable _ that's part of the home-court advantage. That's why fans make a rivalry as much as the teams. It's the fans who create the atmosphere.
Ask anyone who attended last season's OHS-Owego game at Oneonta, where the Yellowjackets' Dan O'Brien and Owego's Jack Keough put on a memorable display of offensive basketball. Oneonta's student section gave Keough grief throughout, but when Keough converted a dunk in transition he turned to the students and gave it back, flashing his jersey in front of the fans.
It was great theater.
But if the this measure passes, we can forget about moments like that.
The students will be silenced, other than cheering for their team.
So I have two suggestions for OHS fans this winter, assuming this proposal passes:
1, Stay home. If STAC's going to have a laundry list of things you can't say or do as it charges $3 for tickets, and more for league championships, don't go.
2, Ignore STAC. This is the path I'd take.
I'd boo constantly. I'd boo when it didn't make any sense to boo.
In fact, this season at OHS boys and girls basketball games, I'm proposing fans boo the Yellowjackets rather than cheer them. We'll start a new tradition right here in Oneonta _ that boos are a good thing.
If the Yellowjackets go on a 10-0 run to open a big lead, I want to hear boos all over the gym. OHS' players and coaches should take these boos as a compliment and draw strength from them.
And throw in some derogatory comments at the home team as well. If Alex Mirabito or Madie Harlem hit three-pointers on three straight possessions, go ahead and yell, "Hey, (Alex or Madie), you've never met a 20-footer you didn't like!" Again, these players should use these comments to inspire them.
The Yellowjackets coaches should not be spared, either.
Should OHS' girls hold the opposition to eight points in a half, hit Bob Zeh with a "Your team thinks defense is the Italian word for the white thing you put around your house."
If the Yellowjackets boys go 15-for-25 from the field in the first half, tell Jerry Mackey, "You guys have a lot of good shooters. They're just not real good makers."
Then see if STAC actually follows through on its proposal. See if it stops games or throws people out.
My guess is it won't.
But STAC needs to be pressed on this issue, because the First Amendment is important.
Allow me to be the first to start this boo-fest by hitting STAC with a big, fat BOOOOOOO (and I mean that in a bad way)!
Rob Centorani covers high school sports for The Daily Star. E-mail him at rcentorani@thedailystar.com.
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