Getting Kicked Out of Game Pays Off

Well, before we get to what went down, one story provided some background on the playing of the song, as follows:

OK, now on to what happened, Campeau-Laurion reportedly said he got up for a potty break while “God Bless America” was playing and the following occurred:

“‘God Bless America,’ written by Irving Berlin in 1918, was played at big league ballparks throughout the country when baseball resumed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It was discontinued in some cities the following seasons but remained a fixture at Yankees games, at which security personnel and ushers use chains to block off some exits while it’s played.”

Back at the time, police saw the matter differently:

“I then said to him, ‘I don’t care about God Bless America. I just need to use the bathroom.’ As soon as I said that, he immediately pinned my arm behind my back,” Campeau-Laurion told CBS 2.

The 29-year-old says two officers pinned both of his arms behind his back and ejected him from the stadium.

“He shoved me out the front gate and told me get out of their country if I didn’t like it,” he said.

Regardless, Campeau-Laurion sued the city and the Yankees, and at the time the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Christopher Dunn, claimed that forcing “fans to remain in the stands for the playing of the song” was a “troubling example of compelled patriotism”, and that there were “many other people who have expressed concern about the policy.”

At some point along the line, the city’s position on showing Campeau-Laurion the front gate appears to have changed to the tune of oh, about, $10,000. Still, there is no admission of liability in the settlement, and from a Stipulation and Order it appears that the Yankees are claiming that any restrictions on fan movement during the game apply not only during the playing of “God Bless America”, but also during the rest of the game too. It may be interesting to see if or how enforcement of any restrictions changes in the future, and whether any future challenges to alleged “compelled patriotism” arise.

  • CBS: Fan Ejected From Yankee Stadium For Bathroom Break (wcbstv.com)
  • KDKA: Fan Sues Yankees Over ‘God Bless America’ Ejection (kdka.com)

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