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Title: Fan Fights NY Yankees 'God Bless America' Ejection
Source:
Associated Press
URL Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic ... /04/15/national/a110742D45.DTL
Published: Apr 15, 2009
Author: Associated Press
Post Date: 2009-04-15 19:16:57 by Brian S
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Keywords: None
Views: 147
Comments: 11
(04-15) 15:46 PDT New York (AP) -- A baseball fan who says he was ejected from Yankee Stadium by police after he left his seat to use the bathroom during the playing of "God Bless America" sued the New York Yankees and the city on Wednesday. Bradford Campeau-Laurion says in his federal lawsuit his rights were violated at an Aug. 26 game between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox when he tried to pass a police officer. The lawsuit said the officer did not let him take a step before grabbing his right arm and twisting it behind him. It said two officers marched him down several ramps to the stadium's exit, where he was pushed out as one officer told him to leave the country if he didn't like it. Campeau-Laurion, a director of Web productions for a media company, does not participate in religious services and objects to being required to do so, the lawsuit said. He is proud to be an American but objects to being required to participate in displays of patriotism, it added. "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. City lawyer Muriel Goode-Trufant said the city hadn't seen the lawsuit but planned to review it thoroughly. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a ruling that the city and the Yankees acted unconstitutionally. Police spokesman Paul J. Browne said the officers, who were being paid by the Yankees to work at the Bronx stadium, ejected Campeau-Laurion, 30, after they "observed a male cursing, using inappropriate language and acting in a disorderly manner while reeking of alcohol." He said the officers "decided to eject him rather than subject others to his offensive behavior." The lawsuit said Campeau-Laurion, who lives in Queens, and a friend "enjoyed the game quietly," though there were rowdy young men seated a few rows away. After buying a second beer an hour after his first, Campeau-Laurion remained in his seat, eating peanuts and watching the game, it said. A Yankees spokeswoman, Alice McGillion, said the team had no comment. Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said it was a "troubling example of compelled patriotism" to force fans to remain in the stands for the playing of the song. "It's patriotism being imposed on people on a mass scale," he said. "It's the first person we know of who's actually been physically thrown out of Yankee Stadium, but we certainly know of many other people who have expressed concern about the policy." The Yankees play their first game at a new stadium Thursday.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
The City of New York and the Yankees will be making offers to settle out of court shortly. City Cops (off duty - in uniform) at Yankee Stadium, being paid by the Yankees are actually rent a cops that are impersonating police and acting under color of law ! Police spokesman Paul J. Browne said the officers, who were being paid by the Yankees to work at the Bronx stadium, ejected Campeau-Laurion, 30, after they "observed a male cursing, using inappropriate language and acting in a disorderly manner while reeking of alcohol." He said the officers "decided to eject him rather than subject others to his offensive behavior." My bullshit detector is on tilt !!!
Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces. De La Boétie
For Yankees that... makes perfect sense.
Prophecy says Barack Half-Breed, Green Paper Wielder, will save The One Tree in Brooklyn.
Sounds like involuntary imprisonment to me.
Yes, Campea-Laurion, everyone has rights and you have the right to not want to sing, or be patriotic. You can keep your hat on during the national anthem if you want to be rebellious. But have some respect for the people who take something from that moment; the moment that is dedicated to loved ones overseas and the courageous lives who have been lost. You don't have to agree with the war (I don't) and you don't have to like the song (It's actually pretty poorly written), but 60 seconds of respect is not too much to ask for.
Hahahaha ... written like a true fan ! The guy may be an asshole but the stadium policy violates and this guy will get some $$$$ !
Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces. De La Boétie
I think I wrote that definition. ;-)
Your story is that you decided to use the bathroom during the playing of God Bless America. When security asked you to wait until the song finished, as per stadium policy, you refused to comply, causing them to eject you from the stadium. Whats more anti-American? Not singing a stupid superficially patriotic song, or not being able to take a piss until you feign loyalty to the government?
I'd like to know the complete story before I paint a halo on this d-bags head. I'm thinking he had this all cooked up before the gameball was tossed out to open the game. This much is true; the South Bronx is a tough place for 'holes.
It's small change to me. ;-)
It wasn't even the Star Spangled Banner ... it was God Bless America ... God's probably thrilled that someone else couldn't handle the hypocrisy.
Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces. De La Boétie
This comment represents the sort of conformist coercion which is the hallmark of the nazi mentality. New York is now Nuremburg. A sporting event is now a Parteitag. Screw you back, jack. Beer-swilling crowds and arm-twisting cops are not in my vision of this country. But then perhaps I am wrong in my estimation of my fellow citizens. Enjoy your "Long War." It may be your last.
Join 2x4 Tuesdays & protect your RKBA.City lawyer Muriel Goode-Trufant said the city hadn't seen the lawsuit but planned to review it thoroughly.
#2. To: Brian S (#0)
...remained a fixture at Yankees games, at which security personnel and ushers use chains to block off some exits while it's played.
#3. To: Brian S (#0)
. 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.
#4. To: noone222, all (#1)
Douchebag of the Year: Bradford Campeau- Laurion 
By: Sarah Thursday, 28 August 2008 
Urban Dictionary definition of douchebag: someone who has surpassed the levels of jerk and asshole, however not yet reached fucker or motherfucker. Modern day example? You, Bradford Campeau-Laurion. We've all heard your story (you have made sure of that) and the opinions have been varied. My opinion? You can bite me.
Let me provide the disclaimer that I am a Yankee fan. I have been to about 300 games in the last six years and I live by that team. None of those facts has any influence on my opinion that you should choke on a dick.
Your story is that you decided to use the bathroom during the playing of God Bless America. When security asked you to wait until the song finished, as per stadium policy, you refused to comply, causing them to eject you from the stadium. You claim you had to use the bathroom urgently, which is why you refused to wait yet you told Deadspin in an interview that after being ejected you waited another 45 minutes to relieve yourself when you got home despite the numerous bars outside the stadium that could have accommodated you? Let that be the first of the many parts of your story that don't quite make sense.
You want to tell the world about your rights being violated and how you were victimized. Oh yeah, fuckface? What about the rights of the people who are serving in our military? Yankee Stadium plays that song after an observed moment of silence for our troops overseas. It's a tribute that lasts about 60 seconds and it means something to people who have family serving or have lost someone in the war. You can't hold your piss for a minute so the guy next to you can have his moment? Fuck you.
And what about the NYPD officers who asked you to wait, only to hear you say you don't care about God Bless America and aren't patriotic? Are you forgetting that it was those very officers who lost brothers in 9/11?
Thanks to your public whining and willingness to email every news outlet in the country, your face is now the most recognizable on in New York. I hope someone punches it in.
#5. To: Jethro Tull (#4)
#6. To: Jethro Tull (#4)
Urban Dictionary definition of douchebag: someone who has surpassed the levels of jerk and asshole, however not yet reached fucker or motherfucker.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams 
#7. To: Jethro Tull (#4)
#8. To: noone222, Rotara, D'bags (#5)
#9. To: Jethro Tull (#8)
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams
#10. To: Rhino369 (#7)
Whats more anti-American? Not singing a stupid superficially patriotic song, or not being able to take a piss until you feign loyalty to the government?
#11. To: Jethro Tull (#4)
You want to tell the world about your rights being violated and how you were victimized. Oh yeah, fuckface? What about the rights of the people who are serving in our military? Yankee Stadium plays that song after an observed moment of silence for our troops overseas. It's a tribute that lasts about 60 seconds and it means something to people who have family serving or have lost someone in the war. You can't hold your piss for a minute so the guy next to you can have his moment? Fuck you.
www.righttokeepandbeararms.com
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