No Cheers for Charger Policy

Ballgames are about winning. Ask any fan, and he or she will have an opinion on what’s needed. And the most ardent fans are often passionately vocal.

Would the game be much fun without that passion? Imagine a football game where fans cheered a touchdown with symphony-audience applause.

Approval and disapproval are instantaneous and boisterous. Some teams even hire cheerleaders to keep the crowd stirred up. It’s not an arena for the faint of spirit, and hardly a place where you would expect to find censorship.

But it seems the San Diego Chargers have a policy that prohibits banners with disparaging comments--comments like “Fire Ortmayer” (the team’s director of football operations) or “Welcome to Ortmayer’s House of Shame.” The Chargers insist that disparaging comments about anyone are taken down, even those about Los Angeles Raiders owner Al Davis. Sports are fun, they say, and there shouldn’t be personal attacks, anymore than there should be profanity.

Disparaging banners also can provoke fights, they argue. In fact, the Padres allow no banners for that reason. The Padres’ policy is not much of a vote for free speech, either, but at least they don’t put themselves in the role of censor.

It’s true that the Chargers have had a rough couple of weeks. They are 0-2 (after a 6-10 season last year), and attendance at their home opener was the lowest since 1977. This might partly explain management’s heightened bunker mentality.

But it doesn’t excuse such a policy, especially in a publicly owned sports arena. Criticism of coaches, managers and players is just fair comment.

The Chargers aren’t likely to win any points with their fans, either, something they ought to care about even if they don’t see the banners as a free-speech issue.