Fans come to fisticuffs at SoFi Stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, August 17^th, 2021

Image: HKS

A fight broke out among fans in the SoFi Stadium (US) stands at the NFL preseason game on August 14^th featuring the Los Angeles Rams against the Los Angeles Chargers, leaving at least one attendee visibly bloodied.

The ‘People’ stated that as per videos posted on social media by attendees, a Rams fan in an Aaron Donald jersey was repeatedly punched by a group of others in the stands of SoFi Stadium, which is shared by the two Los Angeles teams.

The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area (US). The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play their home games at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, which they share with the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The Chargers play their home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, which the club shares with the Los Angeles Rams.

The 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium is a stadium and entertainment complex in Inglewood, California, United States. It is located at the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack 3 miles from LAX Airport, immediately Southeast of The Forum.

The fences were finally mended, but as the man in the Donald jersey was escorted out of the stands, his face appeared to be covered in blood.

Another video showed a woman throwing a soda at the man before the group descended on him. It is unclear what started the fight and no arrests have been reported.

The matchup, which ended in a 13-6 win for the Chargers, marked the first game that fans were allowed in the stands at the splendid SoFi Stadium.

Games began at the SoFi Stadium in September 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no in-person attendance was allowed last season as the United States faced the maximum brunt of the deadly virus. For the August 14^th fixture, though, nearly 70,000 football fans filled up the stands.

The NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, stated recently, “This year, we’re comfortable that local regulations are going to allow us to have fans at all 32 stadiums. We’ll still be smart. We’re still going to be willing to adapt. We’re still going to do everything to make sure our fans are safe when they’re there.”

He continued, “But we expect full stadiums. You know, the fans want to come back. That’s the No. 1 thing we hear. We’re seeing that in our ticket sales. Fans just want to be a part [of] and have that collective experience. Doing that around an NFL game is fun.”

Acknowledging that the Delta variant was spreading its tentacles in the United States, Goodell noted, “”We’re all following Science. We’re following what’s happening in the world around us, obviously with the variant out there. It’s changing the way we look at it. I think the key for us this year, just like last year, is going to be, work together. Work together amongst our clubs, with our players, and really work to adapt our protocols as necessary. That’s where we’ll be. I think if we do that and we stay on top of that, I think we’ll be effective and have very limited disruptions to the season.”

Fans’ unruliness

The ‘FanNation’ stated that fans have waited for over a year to return to NFL stadiums and cheer on their home teams.

Unfortunately, one aspect of fan behavior has also returned: Unruliness.

For the past several seasons, security personnel at stadiums have had to address numerous brawls taking place in the stands.

It was almost a capacity crowd at SoFi Stadium on August 14^th and everything would have been fine had it not been for the fans’ unruly behavior.

It appears NFL fans are already in midseason form, as multiple fights broke out in Los Angeles during the first preseason contest for both squads.

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