When the Duke men’s basketball team enters Comcast Center this Sunday, it will undoubtedly be greeted by a chorus of boos. And for the first time since 2002, J.J. Redick will not be among the Blue Devils on the court.
The sharp-shooting, much-hated guard graduated after last season and is now with the NBA’s Orlando Magic. Redick may have moved on, but he still has an impact on student fans at this university.
On Jan. 21, 2004, Redick and the Blue Devils came into Comcast Center and defeated the Terps by eight points. Redick shined brightly that night, scoring 26 points and connecting on all nine of his free throw attempts.
With the game winding down and Redick at the free-throw line, Terrapin fans – mainly students – chanted “F— you, J.J.” at the Duke guard. ESPN’s microphones picked up those chants, which led to national media coverage about the Terps’ rowdy and rude fan base. ESPN’s Outside the Lines aired a show based on the incident, and USA Today ran a long story detailing the event and the issue of free speech at public universities.
Although there has not been a major incident similar to that one during the past few years, the Redick incident still haunts the reputation of the student fans. It’s a reputation the university’s Athletics Department and administration have tried to reform.
Publications call out fans
In a late September 2006 issue of Sports Illustrated, columnist Rick Reilly wrote about swearing at college sporting events. He discussed how Boston University enacted a ban on cursing at the team’s hockey games.
About halfway through the article, Reilly wrote, “At least BU has the guts to do something. Maryland’s students would make George Carlin blush, but the university still lets them work blue.”
Reilly went on to criticize university President Dan Mote for only writing a harshly worded letter to The Diamondback instead of taking any firm or substantial action on the issue. Mote responded to Reilly in a mid-October issue of the magazine by writing a letter to the editor.
“As the president of the University of Maryland, I share Rick Reilly’s disdain for cursing at athletic events. Maryland has addressed it in many ways: enlisting coaches, students and athletes in decrying foul language, offering T-shirt exchanges and employing seating restrictions. But the issue of vulgar speech will never be completely eliminated, as BU has discovered.”
Mote’s letter also mentions that free speech is a constitutionally protected right, and there is a gray area as to what can be prohibited. Mote did not respond to multiple interview requests seeking comment for this article.
About a month later, Terp fans again appeared in a national publication, this time in USA Today, the nation’s highest-circulated newspaper. Columnist Jon Saraceno attended last season’s football game against Miami at Byrd Stadium, which occurred only a few days after Hurricanes defensive lineman Bryan Pata was shot and killed.
Following the Terps’ 14-13 win, many of the students rushed the field, creating a red sea that surrounded players from both teams.
“Understandably, not every Hurricane wanted to play, but they did their fallen friend proud. The same could not be said of some Terrapins fans who streamed onto the field,” Saraceno wrote. “Hurricanes players were flipped off; at least one Miami player accidentally was knocked down. Didn’t these ‘fans’ understand how tenuous – how really inconsequential – this game really was?”
When asked to comment for this story, Saraceno said he thought the actions of some Terp fans were “pretty crass,” but he did not think it related to a larger issue of fan behavior at the school. He added that similar activities occur at colleges across the country, but given the circumstances of the game, he felt it was necessary to mention the fans’ behavior.
“They are one of the worst student sections in the nation”
In late November, the men’s basketball team faced Illinois as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Illinois’ student section, known as the Orange Krush, is generally regarded as one of the better student fan groups in the country for their charitable work and clever cheers.
The Orange Krush hands out rag sheets to its members before home games, which feature chants to be used during the game; they contain potentially embarrassing information about the opposing team that is to be used to get under their skin.
The sheets handed out at the game against the Terps made mention of this university’s fans: “Maryland fans have a reputation for being outrageous and offensive. They are one of the worst student sections in the nation. Let’s show them what a CLASSY student section is. Let’s be INSANELY LOUD and show them our mental superiority by keeping our cheers creative, not crude.”
The sheets also mocked the university’s fans by mentioning the rioting that often occurs in the downtown College Park area after big games.
“Maryland fans proudly riot after any major event; winning a big game, learning how to write, flushing a toilet,” it read.
Gretchen Kopec, one of the Orange Krush’s executive board members, pointed out that major college sports attract the most attention to schools and their fan bases. She said the cheers directed at Redick were the main influence for criticizing student fans at this university.
“While there is large student support for Maryland basketball, the student section’s antics have really painted a negative light on [Maryland],” she said. “While I am not a J.J. Redick fan, the cheers directed at him were very inappropriate. Especially on national TV, it really showed the student fan base as classless.”
University responds with initiatives
Although vulgar cheers are still heard at Byrd Stadium and Comcast Center, that isn’t much different from many other sporting venues, both professional and collegiate, said officials from the Athletics Department and the University Police.
“Sportsmanship and fan behavior is definitely a national issue and an issue that we care a lot about here at Maryland,” said Chris Boyer, senior associate athletics director. “We have tried for several years to educate and stress the importance of sportsmanship among all of our constituencies, our fans included.”
Boyer mentioned several sportsmanship initiatives the Athletics Department has taken in recent years, including the formation of a Sportsmanship Committee in 2001 following bonfires that were set in College Park after a Terps-Duke game that year.
Linda Clement, vice president for student affairs, was a member of that committee and compared it more to an informal task force. The committee no longer meets regularly, but would reconvene to discuss sportsmanship issues if necessary, Clement said.
Before Sunday’s game versus Duke, Maryland Sports Marketing is sponsoring a T-shirt exchange outside of the student entrance, where fans can turn in their profane T-shirts for more appropriate ones. Boyer said past exchanges like this have yielded minor results.
New riot policy could alter behavior
After Sunday’s game, University Police are prepared for any potential rioting or other violent activities that may take place around downtown College Park. As it has done in the past, the department has mobilized its forces, which involves collaborating with county and state police to develop a strategy to deal with post-game actions, according to Maj. Cathy Atwell.
“The phenomena of post-game fan activity is still very prevalent,” said Atwell, who mentioned the problem isn’t unique to college sports. “We are mobilizing because there’s historically a huge rivalry between the two schools, and it’s better to be prepared.”
Penalties for students who participate in postgame activities became stricter when the University Senate’s proposed changes to the Code of Student Conduct gained approval. With the changes, the expected sanction for misbehavior is expulsion, Clement said.
As an alternative to rioting, two Student Government Association members have recently proposed a post-game celebration to be held in a public space on the campus, such as McKeldin Mall, where there would be music and giveaways from the Athletics Department. Clement said the administration supports this proposal and has agreed to fund it, although it will not be ready in time for Sunday’s game.
No major incident involving poor fan behavior has occurred since most of the university’s sportsmanship initiatives were established. If the student fans continue to behave themselves for the most part and avoid large-scale national embarrassments, they may gain a more positive reputation.
“Those images [of poor fan behavior] linger a long time. You’ll still see shots of incidents that happened in 2002 flashed on the screen in a news broadcast,” Clement said. “I think it takes many, many years to rid yourself of that kind of an image. I think by and large our students are impatient with it, and they don’t like it.”
On Sunday, when the boos rain down from all over Comcast Center, Redick won’t be standing on the court with “DUKE” emblazoned across his chest. As the post-Redick era begins, student fans have the chance to turn the page and begin to silence their critics.
Contact reporter Michael Gluskin at gluskindbk@gmail.com.
