Father and son ejected from NFL game over beer incident

[Landshark]

So the father is enjoying a beer.  He stands up to take a picture and tells his son to just "hold the cup while I snap a picture".  The stadium police see it and kick them both out and cite the father for trespassing and serving alcohol to a minor.  IMO, the stadium police stepped way out of line here.

I would be outraged, but not surprised if Social Services removes the child from the home if and when they get wind of this.  Another example of the government going too far.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/father-kicked-cardinals-game-having-son-hold-beer-135221084.html

[Brian Fein]

Seriously?  Remove the kid from the home because he held, and didn't consume, his father's cup of half-drank beer?

Over-react much?

[Spider-Dan]

When I see these kinds of stories, I am immediately skeptical that the father had the son hold a beer "just long enough to take a picture."  I'd like to see what the stadium police account of the incident is.

[Dave Gray]

^ Totally.  There's more to this.  Either the kid was sneaking drinks or the father was acting like an asshole or something.  This is only one side's retelling of the incident.

[Phishfan]

I have read two sources for this story and I do not believe the father was arrested & charged with anything related to serving a minor. The writer of this article put that in a way it misleads the reader. If there was more to the story, that indeed would have happened. This is just a case of overzealous police work and is a travesty. For a long time I thought my name was, "Son fetch me a beer."

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

When I see these kinds of stories, I am immediately skeptical that the father had the son hold a beer "just long enough to take a picture."  I'd like to see what the stadium police account of the incident is.

Agreed.  In other news the Patriots are being sued after an obese man had a heart attack after arguing with security.

[Dolphster]

Yeah, this is one of those "there has to be more to the story" stories.                                                       

[Phishfan]

So rather than an overzealous police force you guys believe they let charges such as contributing to deliquency and serving a minor drop to just trespassing (FYI I had a friend tresspassed from a stadium once and it was only good for about 45 days or so. I can't remember the length but it was a joke)? You must have not had much experience with police in your lives.

[Dave Gray]

I think it's probably both.  If I had to guess (reading nothing), I bet the stadium said something about the incident (maybe kid sipped the beer), the guy acted like an asshole when questioned about his son, and then they stadium cops were called and acted to the letter of the law.  The cops in the stadiums (from my experience) don't really manage situations.  If they're called, they drag everyone involved out of there and figure it out behind closed doors -- not in front of the public.

[Spider-Dan]

So rather than an overzealous police force you guys believe they let charges such as contributing to deliquency and serving a minor drop to just trespassing (FYI I had a friend tresspassed from a stadium once and it was only good for about 45 days or so. I can't remember the length but it was a joke)? You must have not had much experience with police in your lives.

You seem to be implying that it is unusual for the police to snatch you up, throw a bucketful of trumped-up charges at you, and then go with whatever sticks.  If so, I don't think it's us that's being naive about the practices of law enforcement...

edit: Dave's guess about the father being an asshole is almost certainly correct.  It's bleeding through in the article, where he doesn't seem to acknowledge (or care) about the fact that the law is what it is, but insists that since it was only for a moment that it somehow doesn't count.  It is very easy to imagine this guy making the same argument to the stadium police.

I'd guess the reality is that the kid was likely holding the beer for quite a while (and, given his age, I don't totally discount the possibility that the dad was allowing his son a few sips).  Someone probably texted security, the dad goes bananas, and they both get hauled off.

However, being able to prove that the dad was letting the kid drink is another matter, so the only thing that will stick is trespassing.

[Phishfan]

You seem to be implying that it is unusual for the police to snatch you up, throw a bucketful of trumped-up charges at you, and then go with whatever sticks.

If so, I don't think it's us that's being naive about the practices of law enforcement...

You missed it completely. I am saying the exact opposite. The guy was not charged with anything. He was simply trespassed from the stadium. I'm saying you guys are naive if you think there is much more to this story because the guy was not arrested. The police would not have thought twice against pressing charges if there was anything real going on.

[Brian Fein]

I don't understand how you can trespass at a stadium, if you have a ticket.  You paid to be there.  Isn't that exactly the opposite of trespassing?

[Phishfan]

^^^ It is more like if he comes back he will be trespassing. Basically it means he was barred.

[Brian Fein]

But the report said he was charged with trespassing:

And shortly afterward, he received a visit from some undercover stadium police, who informed him that he had been serving alcohol to a minor and would be immediately escorted from the stadium and handed a citation for trespassing.

How can they justify that?  For the future, fine, I get it.  You're no longer welcome here.  But how can they say he was trespassing if he paid to be there?  Or did they just have nothing else to pin on him?

[Dave Gray]

^ This goes back to my asshole comment, earlier.  I bet they asked him to leave per the terms of the ticket agreement, he refused and made a stink during the game from his seat, and he got escorted out by the cops.  Once you don't leave someone's private property when ordered, it's trespassing.