By @SAdyson
The following is the e-mail received by @_bencole from Jason Kutney regarding cursing in Highmark Stadium:
Guys
I am in a position where a decision must be made for the ultimate betterment of the Club and, no matter how difficult those decisions can be, I have learned they must be made swiftly and clearly.
Effective immediately, the Riverhounds and Highmark Stadium must ban the use of curse words in organized chants, including but not limited to, the F-word, the C-word, the S-word, the A-word, and any altered forms of the words. In the event an individual, located anywhere in the stadium, is seen to be using such words excessively or improperly, the security company will immediately be asked to provide a warning to that individual. If that individual’s actions persist, they will be removed from the stadium, foregoing their ticket payment.
Kutney goes on to justify why the FO is making this decision:
Decency: I do not have the cleanest mouth, but I have come to recognize there is a time and place for everything. On the field, cursing at the referee warrants a yellow card for dissent. Do it again after the warning, you receive a red card and your team suffers a major blow. So, there is a restriction. In court, such an act would lead to contempt of court, and in such instances, that party risks the ultimate judgment. In Heinz Field, PNC Park, or CONSOL, excessive foul language will lead to removal from the stadium by security. But, back to my initial word of “decency”. I do not believe it is, in any way, decent to be dropping such words in front of children, ever. Our country has many, many problems bigger than language, but that doesn’t make it any better, or more acceptable. To curb this language is an act of decency, in the name of something bigger than any one of us. It is the right thing to do.
Support/Growth: A supporter is there for the Club through thick and thin, wins and losses. Through our days at Chartiers Valley to Highmark Stadium, the Steel Army has remained intact and is now experiencing growth. I fail to believe that growth hinges upon the use of the F-word in organized chants. If it does, then the growth is not real or substantial. Should Highmark Stadium and the Riverhounds have taken the steps to spell things out in a clear and concise manner from the get-go? Maybe. It can be argued. The fact is, we didn’t. We wanted to feel out the situation and allow the natural order to direct us in this specific regard. It led to confusion and I take responsibility for that. We are all learning. In this case, we see that great bits of support for our Club will deteriorate if this continues. Therefore, we must address the issue. If addressed, it seems as though the ENTIRE, COLLECTIVE SUPPORT will continue to grow. This is the name of the game. A supporter wants to see a sold out crowd every game, just as an actor wants the curtains to open to a packed crowd. If the Steel Army had 150 strong in the Supporters Section and the rest of the stadium was barren, two things would happen: 1) the singing, dancing, and chanting would seem insignificant and lost and 2) the club would collapse. So, just as the players are on the field to perform in front of a crowd of followers, the Army arrives to entertain and inspire as well. By definition, they RALLY SUPPORT FOR THE CLUB. By eliminating harsh and profane words in chants, this can continue to happen, it seems. It is the right move.
Professionalism: We each can be better….better as people, better as business leaders, better as husbands or wives, better as soccer players. In our sport, it is an every-single-hour battle for respect in this city/country. Much of this comes through the perceived professionalism of the Club. Our Academy is top notch and considered highly professional. That said, we still strive to improve upon some real deficiencies. Highmark Stadium is top notch and considered highly professional. However, there are still many construction-related matters that are being addressed each day. Our Pro Team is clearly headed in the right direction and we went out this year and brought in some true professionals. Of course, we still have work to do in becoming a championship team and that is why the group is analyzing video as I type this. Bottom line, we are striving to be considered “professional” in a very professional sports market. That depends heavily on two things: a packed downtown stadium and winning. Those two things will make us relevant and considered to be ‘professional’. I have, since April 13th, received 142 emails regarding complaints over the Steel Army and an estimated 200 phone calls/voicemails of the same. Some of these situations ended well, but at least half did not. So, I would estimate that we have lost 175 possible fans over the use of 2 words in chants. That is over 5% of our stadium’s seating capacity from 2 words. The professional response to this is to stop using those words.
He then concludes talking about the relationship between the FO and the Steel Army:
This is not about ‘the man’ coming down on the the people. This is not about the “FO versus the Steel Army”. This is recognizing a hole in the business and working to fill it – doing what a professional would do. The Steel Army has the potential to be bigger than we all think. I do hope that this is a step forward in that process.
In my humble opinion — and this is just me speaking, not the entire Army — this was a very reasonable, thought-out response to the Army, and was not a simple “cease and desist” order.
There are supporters’ groups all over the country having problems such as this. Just look at supporters in Salt Lake City. This seems to be a national trend, to try to get stadiums fuller by catering to both hardcore supporters and more casual fans.
We will comply with all requests to eliminate cursing in the supporters’ section, even though it would have been nice to have had these expectations laid out before the beginning of the season.
Time to get ready for tomorrow.
#UNLEASH
