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Should Sports Fans’ Assaults Be Considered Hate Crimes?

I may not watch every sport but I do consider myself being a big fan for the sports I do watch.  I love to cheer on my N.Y. Giants to a possible Super Bowl berth, while I pray each year for the N.Y. Mets to remember how to play competitive baseball.  Whether they’re winning or losing, I still will cheer them on as I wear team hats or shirts.  As the season progresses, I never felt in danger that something physical would happen to me, just because I was wearing my team’s logos.  However, more stories are starting to surface on how dangerous it can be to your health; simply by wearing your team’s outfits in a sporting arena.

With the amount of money one spends at a sporting arena on food and souvenirs, you should be able to enjoy watching the game, despite your team being home or a visitor.  Unfortunately, more seems to go on past the usual heckling or booing.  Acts of violence seems to be occurring more and fans are getting severely hurt; just because they support their team.  More than once I have read of someone being severely beaten and sent to the hospital, simply because they are the fan of the opposite team.  I feel crimes like these need to be taken more serious and those who are committing them should be punished more severely!  Since it is a crime based on hate, shouldn’t those involved be charged for committing a hate crime?

According to Wikipedia, as well as in crime and law, ”hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or political affiliation.”  When you take a hockey game, Rangers against Flyers, and have three Flyer fans severely beat up a Rangers fan because he is part of that “social group,” then you have a hate crime taking place.  In this case, those involved will face serious charges since the victim is a former Iraq vet as well as being both a police officer and volunteer firefighter in Middlesex County.  However, more and more fights, such as this one, break out and the penalty is not severe.  Stronger action needs to take place in order to protect those who want to support their team.