Making Players and Fans Safer with Responsible Beverage Service

NBA Commissioner David Stern called the recent violence between NBA players and fans "shocking, repulsive and inexcusable." Unfortunately, what happened at the Pistons/Pacers game on November 19, 2004 was not an isolated event:

• Sept. 13, 2004 - Texas Rangers' pitcher Frank Francisco threw a chair that hit a woman in the stands and broke her nose.
• April 19, 2003 - An Oakland Athletics fan threw a cell phone at Texas Rangers outfielder Carl Everett.
• April 15, 2003 - A fan grabbed an umpire around the legs during a game between the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals.
• Sept. 19, 2002 - A father and son ran onto the field at Chicago's Comiskey Park and tackled Kansas City Royals first-base coach Tom Gamboa to the ground, punching and kicking him.
• Dec. 16, 2001 -Cleveland Browns fans threw bottles that hit players on both teams and other people in the stands. Most of the bottles were filled with beer.
• March 29, 2001 -Toronto Maple Leaf's Tie Domi wrestled with a fan in the penalty box in Philadelphia after Domi poured water on taunting spectators.

While many factors play a role in this rash of violent incidents, it is impossible to rule out alcohol as a potential contributor. Just think about the elements of a typical professional sporting event-competition, aggression, tense conditions, and-lots of drinking. Becoming intoxicated in this environment could easily result in out of control behavior and intensify already tense emotions. Yet, many sports venues do little to prevent binge drinking among fans.

One way to reduce the likelihood of player/fan violence is to implement Responsible Beverage Service (RBS), a proven strategy to decrease heavy and underage drinking. At a minimum, RBS reduces alcohol-related problems by teaching servers how to avoid selling to underage youth and intoxicated patrons. But a comprehensive RBS program goes well beyond checking IDs and cutting off drunks. Servers learn about state and local alcohol policies and the potential penalties for violating them. They also learn the alcohol sales policies specific to the establishment where they work and how to apply them consistently. Ideally, these policies reflect community standards designed to balance protecting the public health and welfare with the opportunity to sell alcohol. Finally, a successful RBS program must be backed up by consistent enforcement, both by management and local law enforcement.