With Game 6 of the World Series scheduled to begin in just a few hours, we thought it would make sense to dust off an article we wrote back in 2008 that could come in handy for anyone lucky enough to be at Fenway tonight.
1.What can you do if you have an extra ticket to the game that you want to sell?
While it is illegal for a non-licensed broker to resell a ticket for profit, there is nothing wrong with unloading one at face value – not that anyone in his or her right mind would be inclined to do so tonight.
That issue was determined in 2000 by a federal judge in Boston after a veterinarian from Canton was arrested outside the park for trying to sell an $18 ticket that suddenly became available when the vet’s friend couldn’t make it to the game at the last minute.
In response to the arrest, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro issued an order that prohibits police from arresting ticket-holders who attempt to unload extra seats at or below face value.
“The casual fan is safe at this point because the order said that as long as they are not in the business of reselling tickets for a profit, they can go ahead and sell them at face value without having to worry about breaking the law or getting arrested,” says the veterinarian’s Boston lawyer, Robert M. Mendillo.
2.What are your options if you don’t want to be searched by security when you enter the ballpark?
According to Professor Michael A. McCann, a Massachusetts lawyer who writes a sports-law column for Sports Illustrated, you’re out of luck on this one.
While the U.S. and state constitutions protect citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures, legal experts say the rules don’t apply at ballparks.
Because the Red Sox are a privately owned entity, the law does not consider searches at Fenway to be the type of government action protected by the Constitution.
“The bottom line is that if you don’t want to be searched, you have an absolute right to not enter the park,” explains McCann. “But if you choose to go to the game, the team has every right to not let you in unless you agree to the search.”
In this post-Sept. 11 era, McCann notes that most professional sports teams — including the Red Sox — have implemented some sort of minimally intrusive search policy.
“Terrorism experts have said that stadiums are a natural target because you have thousands of people in a closely situated environment where an attack could injure or kill many people,” he says. “Because of that, if there ever was a legal challenge to one of these searches, it’s likely the Red Sox would argue that their decision to do so was motivated by a reasonable effort to make the park safe for patrons.”
While a lawsuit challenging such searches likely wouldn’t get too far, McCann says that a ticket-holder who is denied entrance for refusing to be searched might be able to get a refund.
3. What happens if you want to wear your good luck “F–k the Yankees” T-shirt tonight, but Fenway officials won’t let you in?
While the First Amendment prohibits the government from imposing restrictions on a person’s right to free speech, that argument likely won’t hold up at Fenway.
“Private entities can put conditions on like this, so long as they’re not discriminating [against] race, ethnicity or some other protected class,” says McCann. “In a setting where you have kids and families trying to enjoy the game, the team has some right to regulate the speech of people coming in.”
The question of whether a team has the right to prevent fans from certain forms of offensive speech arose during a heated playoff series between the Boston Celtics and the New Jersey Nets in 2002.
When word came out that police had arrested Nets star Jason Kidd for allegedly hitting his wife in the face, Celtics officials prohibited spectators at the Boston Garden from wearing T-shirts or holding signs making light of the matter.
Several rowdy attendees were denied entrance to the game, and others were thrown out of the building for attempting to break the rules.
“It’s hard to dispute the reasonableness of such a measure,” says McCann. “I’m not aware of anyone challenging a team’s right to keep stuff like that out of a game.”
4. Who is liable if you get injured by a foul ball?
Case in point: Jane Costa suffered permanent facial damage after a line drive struck her in the face during the fifth inning of a game at Fenway in 1998.
She unsuccessfully sued the Sox in 2000, arguing that the team had failed to warn her of the danger of being hit by a foul ball. In ruling against Costa, the Appeals Court noted that the team had no duty to warn fans of the dangers of foul balls.
Worcester lawyer Douglas L. Fox, who defended the team against Costa’s claim, says that even someone with limited knowledge of the game would know that the potential for physical harm exists for all spectators at Fenway.
“When you’re sitting in an area that’s not protected by netting or some other barrier, a person of average intelligence is presumed to know that there is a possibility you could be injured by an errant foul ball or a bat that slips out of somebody’s hands,” he says.
Fox notes, however, that the court specifically found that teams are legally obligated to keep the area directly behind home plate set off with screening.
“As long as the stadium provides an area that’s protected behind home plate, which is considered the area most likely to be involved with errant foul balls, the team is not going to be held responsible,” he adds.
At some point after the injury, the Red Sox did make efforts to further warn fans of the potential for danger by placing a sign along the first-base line where Costa was sitting. The sign reads: “Be Alert. Foul Balls And Bats Hurt.”
5. Assuming things go really well tonight, what could happen if you decide to run onto the field to join the Sox in their post-game celebration?
In addition to getting tackled by one of the Fenway security guards lining the field, if you’re stupid enough to interrupt a game you can expect to be hauled off to jail.
“Once [fans] are escorted off the field, they are immediately taken into custody, transported to the police station and eventually brought to court for an arraignment,” says Jake Wark, a spokesperson for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, whose office prosecutes all cases originating out of Fenway.
While the charges can vary from case to case, Wark notes that most suspects are charged with the misdemeanor crime of “disturbing a lawful assembly.”
The law reads that “whoever willfully interrupts or disturbs an … assembly of people met for a lawful purpose” shall be punished by a jail term of not more than one month.
Wark says that depending on the officer making the arrest, disruptive fans can also face additional charges ranging from trespassing, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.
Spectators arrested inside the park are prosecuted in Roxbury District Court. Cases involving criminal activity directly outside the stadium are heard either in Roxbury District Court or Boston Municipal Court.
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