Brawls at SoFi Stadium are latest example of NFL teams not doing enough to protect paying customers

It seems like every week of NFL action results in videos of fan fights in various NFL venues.

More fighting occurred on Monday night at SoFi Stadium when the Cowboys faced the Chargers. According to Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times, multiple skirmishes took place throughout the night.

From the concourse to the stands, fans of both teams, who had already fought on the field before the game started, engaged in battles with each other.

According to Henson, no arrests were made.

It has become an accepted risk of attending NFL games. The combination of heightened emotions, excessive alcohol consumption, and the physicality of the game creates a situation where humans end up pushing, shoving, punching, and kicking one another.

Although all fights are the result of intentional acts of violence, the fact that they continue to happen is foreseeable to those who profit from the attendance of thousands of fans at NFL games.

Whatever preventive measures the teams take, they are clearly insufficient as fights continue to occur. Perhaps a simple solution is to stop selling beer at the games. Alternatively, a more complex and costly approach may involve assigning multiple security officers to each seating section in the stadium.

Security guards are already present on the field to protect players, coaches, and staff from fans. Why should paying customers be entitled to any less protection?

Perhaps some teams and stadium operators are willing to accept the risk of serious injuries or even fatalities. They may be prepared to defend lawsuits and settle cases, potentially relying on insurance coverage for injured fans’ compensation.

However, the standards should be higher. The risk of getting seriously hurt or worse during an NFL game should not be part of the experience. The NFL and its teams need to develop effective strategies to prevent these fights from happening.

While players are compensated for accepting the physical dangers of football, fans who pay to attend should face no physical risks at all.

This is the challenge for the league if it is willing to face it. The ongoing occurrence of these fights demonstrates that, thus far, the league has not taken sufficient action.

Every team should have executives responsible for ensuring the safety of all fans during games, considering the factors that contribute to altercations, including the influence of alcohol. Ultimately, it comes down to how much money teams are willing to invest in upfront measures versus the costs incurred afterward to compensate those who were simply trying to enjoy a football game but ended up needing medical treatment for injuries resulting from preventable or avoidable fights.

This needs to be a priority for the league, but it is clear from almost every weekend’s incidents that it currently is not.

Most fans are not deterred by the risk of attending a game and getting injured in a fight, but perhaps they should be. Those who do end up injured surely wish they had taken the risk more seriously.