According to the Dallas Morning News, earlier this week a female Rangers fan wearing a "Yankees Suck" t-shirt was asked to either turn it inside out or leave the ballpark ... in Texas.
But wait, it gets better. Kristen Knapp-Webb was at the Rangers-Yankees game celebrating her 19th wedding anniversary and her husband Walter had given her the shirt as an anniversary present. All of which puts her in contention for "Wife of the Year" honors.
Anyway, security approached the happy couple before the game and informed them that they considered her shirt "profane." I'm assuming that they meant the "suck" part and not the "Yankees" part, but you never know. Here's what Rangers spokesperson John Blake said afterward:
That particular phrase is one we've received a lot of complaints about. That kind of thing is offensive to a lot of people, especially if you have young children and that kind of thing. And I think that's why we have that policy.
As someone who has this t-shirt in his closet--here's proof, if you don't believe me--I'm perhaps somewhat biased on this topic, but the notion of protecting "young children" from seeing the word "suck" on a piece of clothing seems fairly ridiculous. After all, the Morning News has no problem putting "Yankees Suck" in the story's headline, and presumably more children read the newspaper than a woman's t-shirt.
Plus, raising children to hate the Yankees is part of what makes America great.
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You have to draw the line somewhere and I fully support the decision of the Texas Rangers security to not allow this shirt. Booing, heckling and offensive displays mocking a team or player simply because they are a particular team or player are bush league, foolish and are disrespectful to the American sense of fair play, baseball tradition and the fans that are at the game to actually watch and enjoy the game.
Anton. I would agree with you if this were 1950 and our wives were swapping apple pies and talking about the "swell" weather.
LOL! This is like a cosmic rerun: the Mariners banned the exact same shirt (think about that: someone's making a living off Yankee-haters) several years ago, on the premise that small children were being corrupted or something.
They later relented after discovering that "sucks" is about the tamest word you could use in that context:
as a child, and even now, i enjoy reading t-shirts on women, especially if she is well proportioned. suck is the tamest word out there, and everyone knows it, including little kids. as far as heckling goes, as long as the comments are not raunchy, and/or profane, it is absolutely part of the game
Texas Sucks! reason #2083 i will never live there.
we don't need u anyway
OMG! Anton, booing and heckling are the same to baseball as a home run and strikeout. I too have the shirt. I have to versions of the shirt. One is profane. I wear it at home. The other is worn EVERYWHERE. The Yankees do SUCK. Like a Hoover. This issue came up in Seattle several years ago. The club backed down. I suspect the Rangers will be forced to back down also.
I agree that America is great because I can put, and did, a Yankees Suck tee shirt on my grandson and he is a Yankee hater all the way. America, what a country.
You got it. One of the best parts of the baseball season is watching your favorite team beat the team that sucks, and usually that team is the Yankees... for various reasons, all of which are valid, steeped in tradition and based in fact. Those tshirts are the great equalizers and a sign of disrespect where no respect is deserved. It is just like booing and heckling. Everytime I go to the ball park I hear much worse things said than "Yankees suck!"
If it is really an issue for kids, then find a solution. One such solution would be a family section where offensive tshirts and profanity are policed.
The Ranger's SUCK as well! People who find the word SUCK offensive are themselves obnoxious and offensive.
I am amused by the "suck" in these sayings.. Why do the Yankees suck? Is there a real, verifiable reason for that? or is it just one's opinion?
As a fan of one team, I would rather focus on how good my team is, rather than call another team "losers", or "they suck", etc. Why cant we all just be positive?
How about a shirt that said:
<< My team >> RULES!
I would buy that shirt in a heart-beat.
This did not go well the first time around, for the Mariners seven years ago.
Lots of bad press came from that, and shortly thereafter they scrapped the policy.
Why does this site hide links? Does it work this way?
Edit: nope :) It was a news story from komonews.com about the Mariners "Yankees' Suck" controversy.
Bill, you have to do your time in the "greenhouse" before you can post links, or request friends. Having friends will help articles you write or "seed" get seen. It will help you out to visit topics other than sports, perhaps, people may be reluctant to "friend" you without knowing where you stand on other topics.
Hmm, interesting, the "back arrow" didnt bring me back to the main newsvine page. To get there, click on my name, then click on "top news", or another category if you like. Join in the discussions on other topics from there. Good luck, I may "friend" you yet, I just dont make that choice based on sports views alone, eg, I am a RedSox fan, and thus would probably not be friends with New Yorkers based on baseball, yet I do have newsvine friends who are in NY whom I am quite fond of, based on their views on other topics. Hope that helps, this is a fun site.
Thanks very much for the info. I don't really need another friend network or to visit any other topics, so I'm probably just going to have to live without linking. :) It's good to know how it works though.
This would NEVER happen at Fenway!
:-)
If they think that's profane, they should see some of the t-shirts at a Phillies game.
I can't help wondering if banning this t-shirt is even legal. Is Rangers Ballpark (or whatever it's called these days) one of the many studiums funded by public money? If so, shouldn't the First Amendment apply there? I mean, at least until Texas secedes, that is.
I think it's a good thing and I don't find the word suck particularly offensive at all. More parents should raise their children to root harder for the team they support and spend less time "hating" the other team. To me that's the same basic premise that other religons use to start these jihads against our way of life over here. This kind of behavior doesn't change a thing (The Yankees will always have one of the largest fan bases in the history of the planet and us westerners will never bow down to extremists and cancel our collective subscription to Playboy or ask women to wear more clothing). All it does is break down the fabric of society. Somebody absolutely should take a stand as far as I'm concerned. Take care of your own business, be proud of your own team and let live in peace otherwise. Listening to ten year old kids yell Yankees Suck at an event, sometimes not even at a baseball game, is neither humorous, cute or funny. It's just sad. It speaks exeedingly poorly of the parents even if they do loathe the Yankees. 90% of the country "hates" the Yankees, but there is no reason for the corporation that is MLB to support this kind of behavior against one of their own, particularly when the Yankees subsidize 95% of the other teams one form or another. That was a class move by The Rangers organization and more teams should consider the same. There is no reason to promote hate in any way shape or form. As much as the word "suck" has penetrated into the modern vernacular it's borderline acceptable at best. I'm not conservative, I'm not religious and I'm not always complaining about what is wrong with today's society; in fact I'm quite the opposite, but I agree with the sentiment behind this move by The Rangers. There ought to be some framework of decency when you head to the ballpark with your family.
The Yankees actually have a policy against "Boston or Red Sox" sucks shirts. I know of at least one season ticket holder a couple of years ago, who was kicked out of the stadium and had his season tickets cancelled for refusing to give up the shirt.
BTW, Aaron what else do you have in your closet? Time to come out?
Even though the word is not offensive to me, it is not a "freedom of speech issue". Your ticket to the game is a license from a private corporation (the Rangers) and not from a government entity. They could probably ban you for having a shirt that says "Aaron is the greatest!". Doesn't that suck?
Get your "Yankees Draw in by Establishing a Partial Vacuum" T-Shirts here!
It's called class, and it should be commended. Good for the Rangers, and for any team that enforces such a policy.
It's not profane, but it is classless. Good for the Rangers.
I had a NEW YORK sucks written on the back of a basic diamondbacks shirt at game 7 of the 2001 world series. I sat in the diamond level which is right in front of the suites. Coincidentally, Mayor Guiliani was in the suite behind me. He apparently did not like my shirt either and sent his large african american security guard. His jaw dropped when i turned around, as below the diamondbacks "A", i had written "Game 6: Worst Beating Since Rodney King". Needless to say he was heated but i would not take it off for someones personal security, it eventually took Bank One Ballpark team of security to convince it was in my best interest to turn shirt inside out. Well to this day, i will say the yankees suck, and they havent done squat since we beat them in game 7.
How about a nice tee with "The Yankees Vacuum" on the front.
If you have a choice of living in Texas or living in Hell you rent out Texas and live in Hell.
I love that wearing a t-shirt is somehow equated with the United States' way of life and foreign policy with regard to terrorism. That wasn't a reach at all .
Our society has become way too politically correct. I am sure that those same children they were "protecting" have seen far worse on the Internet.
Texas, the only place that still celebrates a loss to the Washington Generals of the military world, Mexico.
I worked for the Rangers the first two years after the new ballpark was built. The policy then and now is the same. If you wouldn't want your grandmother and child to be offended then don't wear the article of clothing and don't make the gesture. There wer many people that had to learn that lesson and apparently still do.
Ted - wearing a New York sucks shirt 1 month after 9-11 is tasteless. That says a lot about you.
I wonder if the Yankees suck shirt this woman was wearing had anything else offensive. There are many varities of the shirt, and I'm sure some that I have not seen, which could very well be sexual and innappropriate for children. I would need to see the actual shirt to form an opinion.
The Yankees are profane. 'Nuff said.
Stupid. Really really really really stupid.
If we lived in a wholesome world I could understand. We don't. The reaction of the Rangers org is major kneejerk. I think that the average person hears or reads the word suck - or worse - all day long.
Would a "Yuck Fankees" shirt or sign be profane?
I have always had two favorite teams. The one I actually cheer for and whoever is playing against the Yankees.