The Arizona Cardinals fans Initially denied entry She missed the team's home opener because she was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat in support of former President Donald Trump's presidential candidacy.
On Sunday, thousands of football fans packed into State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to watch the hometown Cardinals take on the Los Angeles Rams in just the second game of the 2024-25 season.
“I feel part of the problem was that this security guard was clearly biased against my hat.”
Among the crowd were Susan Rosener, a Cardinals season ticket holder for nearly 30 years, and her husband.
Rosener happened to be wearing a black MAGA hat when he tried to enter the stadium, and as he was about to enter, an unnamed female security guard working for a third-party security company apparently ordered Rosener to stop.
“You can't bring that in here,” the security guard said, according to Rosener.
Rosener was surprised by the directive and asked the guard to explain the issue, and when the guard told him that MAGA hats and other political attire were not allowed, he responded with skepticism.
“She said, 'No political hats or shirts,' and I said, 'I never heard that.' I said, 'That doesn't make sense to me.' And she said, 'I told you to take your hat off,'” Rosner recalled the exchange.
According to KPNX-TV: Prohibited Items List There's no mention of political attire at games at State Farm Stadium, with the banned list vaguely relating only to clothing deemed “indecent or indecent in public” and “any items deemed inappropriate or dangerous by stadium security,” the outlet reported.
Ms. Rosener tried to complain, but her husband eventually intervened and suggested they take off their hats so they could watch the game. The security guard agreed, provided they threw the hats in a nearby trash can, which the couple did.
“Looking back, I wish I had stood my ground a little longer, but I didn't know what the repercussions would be,” Rosener told KPNX-TV. “My husband would kill me if I did anything with my season tickets or put my season tickets at risk.”
Rosener also believes the security guards targeted her intentionally.
“I think part of the issue was that this security guard was clearly biased against my hat,” she said, noting that she is a strong supporter of free speech and would have had no problem seeing clothing in support of Kamala Harris at the game.
The Cardinals later released a statement claiming they had made their policy regarding politically-themed items clear to all employees and apologized to Rosener.
“In an isolated incident that occurred at Sunday's game, stadium security misunderstood our policy regarding prohibited items. As with most venues, 'signs, posters, flags or displays of a political nature' are not permitted, however, this was not the case. We will endeavor to provide clarity to all stadium personnel in future situations like this. We have also reached out to those involved to let them know their experience did not align with our policies and practices and have apologized,” a statement from the team was quoted as saying by KPNX-TV.
Rosner is looking forward to returning to State Farm Stadium in his MAGA uniform.
She'll get her chance this Sunday when the Cardinals host the Detroit Lions (1-1). The Cardinals lost their first game of the season to the Buffalo Bills but dominated the visiting Rams 41-10 last weekend to improve to a 1-1 record.
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