The fan who engaged in hateful language directed at Barbra Banda at Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey last week has had season tickets revoked and is now banned from future Gotham FC matches and events, the team announced Wednesday.
The club said it investigated the March 23 incident in collaboration with the National Women’s Soccer League, staff and stadium security. The team interviewed “numerous” witnesses, including fans and stadium, team and league personnel, as well as reviewing stadium security footage and security logs, according to their statement.
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“Threatening, abusive or discriminatory behavior or language of any kind has no place at Gotham FC events,” Gotham FC said in its statement. “Our club and the NWSL are committed to creating a welcoming, safe and enjoyable matchday experience for all players, staff and fans.”
The fan in question was found to have violated the NWSL Fan Code of Conduct.
The Orlando Pride, the National Women’s Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association all echoed the same sentiment in statements released shortly after the incident, swiftly condemning the behavior exhibited by the fan.
The incident occurred at Gotham’s home opener in Harrison, N.J., where Orlando Pride defeated Gotham 2-0. The incident was reported to stadium staff during the match, Gotham said last month. Stadium security addressed the individual and continued to monitor the situation for the remainder of the match, the team also said.
The NWSL called the behavior “unacceptable” and said it “has no place in our league or our stadiums. This was echoed by Gotham and Orlando in their statements the following day.
A Gotham season ticket holder reported the experience in the stands via Reddit, writing that “multiple” Gotham season ticket holders in their section targeted Banda with what that fan deemed “bigotry,” stemming from racist and transphobic rhetoric. The post quickly gained traction.
“One fan got pulled aside by security after he cheered for Banda falling and yelled, ‘She shouldn’t be on the field anyway!’ I was gratified to see security speak to him, but all he got was a warning,” the fan wrote. They said they shared the incident with the team via a postgame survey sent via email and would also contact their sales representative with Gotham’s front office.
Gotham previously said that they spoke with the fan who reported the incident on Reddit as part of their investigation.
The response from both clubs and the leagues was much quicker compared to the online bad-faith attacks that targeted Banda in November.
“There were a lot of lessons learned, both about things that we could have done better to support (Banda), internally and externally,” NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told NPR’s “All Things Considered” in March.
The league, Berman added, was also working to find a partner to provide monitoring and protection services for players on social media.
However, fans at Gotham FC matches can report inappropriate behavior through an encrypted text messaging service that links directly to the stadium’s incident management.
(Photo: Bill Barrett / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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