Fans' Rights

So here's an interesting article from the NYT about the rights of fans to cheer and jeer. In other words, how far can the fan go before being asked to leave the stadium? Or how long do you let him (and it's almost always a him) make an ass of himself?

I can't comment on the specific situation discussed in the article (a fan behind the scorer's table was asked to leave a game at NC State). I didn't see the game, nor do I know what the officials heard that caused them to make the decision.

I can say this, though: In the time I've been officiating, I have never had to have a fan ejected because of verbal abuse. I did once tell a coach that he needed to control the parents on his sideline or he would earn himself an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty; and that if he got two of those, he would be gone (and yes, this was an 8th grade game -- why is it that junior high parents are always the worst?).

I once also had game administrators remove some fans from a game (probably students) for shining one of those penlight laser beam thingys onto the field.

But I've never had a problem with obnoxious fans during a game. Of course, football has a built-in deterrent in that the fans (most of the time) are nowhere near the field; they're just a loud, monotonous din.

In short, the article reminded me yet again of why I don't work basketball.