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It's All Fun And Games, Until We Lose A Right

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Daniel Ruth

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 20, 2008

Such is the power of a simple, declarative: "No!"

Three years ago, a mild-mannered high school government teacher found himself in the middle of a group of Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans streaming like lemmings into Hellooooo Sucker Stadium, when he decided enough was enough of being pushed and prodded and groped and treated like a criminal simply because he wanted to watch a lousy, stinking football game.

The National Football League oligarchy had decreed that all of its serfs wishing to gain entry to one of its hallowed games had to consent to a worthless pat-down search by rent-a-cops.

And everyone said, "Well sure, no problem yuck, yuck, yuck. Go ahead and violate my Fourth Amendment rights. I gotta get in there to spend ridiculous sums of money for a beer just to watch a game."

Everyone that is, except Gordon Johnston, who simply and firmly said: No.

Pesky Troublemakers Afoot

With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union - yes, that conniving, left-wing, LIBERAL!, crowd of troublemaking subversives who plot day and night to make sure all that irritating stuff in the U.S. Constitution, such as our rights, are protected - Johnston challenged the NFL-ordered pat-downs in court.

As you might imagine, the NFL reacted as if someone had just suggested all its teams revert to playing soccer and, thus, it unleashed its legal dogs of torts upon the uppity Johnston.

Still, the painfully shy Johnston has prevailed in the courts, where judges, those folks who have a nagging understanding of the law, have agreed with the renegade Bucs fan that the pat-down searches violate the Constitution.

Since 2005, there have been various ups and downs in the case, eventually leading to an injunction against the Tampa Sports Authority banning the unnecessary pat-downs, which has remained in effect and made Teapot Dome Field the only NFL shrine where the customers aren't subjected to the cheap feels by the clipboard Stasi all because of one man who stood up and said: "No, not me, not here, not now."

An Example Of Moral Courage

Earlier this week, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a motion by Johnston and the ACLU to maintain the injunction while the case is being appealed before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Johnston and his attorneys have grounded their case in elegantly simple terms. People wishing to attend an event like a football game should not have to forfeit their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches in order to gain admittance.

Yet, since the Sept. 11 attacks, all too often the public has been more than willing to allow their Constitutional protections to be eroded out of the always-powerful motivation: fear.

Finally one man said: No.

We've had some discussion this week about Hillsborough County's annual Moral Courage Award, which is generally given to someone who confronted government.
Gordon Johnston certainly exemplifies that standard - a quiet man who rose up to defend the Constitution on a matter of principle.

And that has taken more courage than anything you'll find on the gridiron.

Keyword: Book of Ruth, to read and comment on Daniel Ruth's blog.

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