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Rethink prefootball pat-downs

Another Tampa public official has seen the light: Frisking fans at every Buccaneers game, without cause and at public expense, might not be so smart after all.

Tampa Sports Authority vice chairman Mark Proctor wants his board to seek more legal advice before continuing to carry out the NFL's requirement to pat-down fans on game day. His request came after the practice was suspended in Cincinnati; the county prosecutor there likened the arrangement to an illegal search.

It's too bad the authority proceeded with the searches without exploring in good faith the civil rights implications. The excuse that a pat-down is voluntary is laughable; no season ticket holder had prior notice and refusing means the loss of a coveted seat, which is coercion by any measure. Worse, the league (read: team owners) imposed the requirement without providing the money to pay for it.

Proctor and chairman Patrick Manteiga are right. The TSA needs the state attorney and outside counsel to review how searching fans en masse is constitutional. The police cannot do this without reasonable suspicion a crime occurred. That is why Tampa, like other cities, uses private security firms. At the very least, if the NFL wants the pat-downs, let the NFL pay - and require the league to indemnify the county for any lawsuits that come. Just because every NFL city caved does not make the pat-down right. This might seem trivial for a town that suffered mightily with the Bucs, but a fundamental principle is at play. Cincinnati recognized it. Will we?

[Last modified October 5, 2005, 01:14:17]