MLS Fire Hispanic Fan Club To Protest Security At Toyota Park
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MLS Fire Hispanic Fan Club Protests
Game-Day Treatment Of Hispanic Fans |
Sector Latino, the MLS Fire's unofficial Hispanic fan club, will "band together Saturday at Toyota Park to protest Monterrey Security, the firm that polices the Bridgeview stadium on game day," according to Stacy St. Clair of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The security firm is accused of "targeting Hispanic fans who sit in an area designated for the team's most ardent and vocal supporters." Members of the group said that they "must empty their pockets for weapons searches, listen to gang-banger innuendos and, on at least one occasion, endure racial slurs." Sector Latino said that the problems "began shortly after its formation in 2005 but became more pressing this season." The "tension escalated during a match two weeks ago after the club inadvertently sold assigned seats in Sector Latino's section, even though it's considered a general admission area." Sector Latino Leader Walter Arredondo said, "When you're calling people 'wetbacks' and 'spics,' you're going to lose control. No one is going to follow orders when they're being demeaned like that." A Fire spokesperson called the racism accusations "unfounded" and said that the club "continues to investigate the complaints." Meanwhile, the controversy "threatens to ensnare" Fire MF Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who is MLS' "best-known Latino player." Monterrey President Juan Gaytan Jr. serves as Blanco's "personal bodyguard and translator." As part of their protest Saturday, Sector Latino fans "will unfurl banners in English and Spanish imploring Blanco and [Fire] owner Andell Holdings LLC to intervene on their behalf." Monterrey Security also "oversees Soldier Field during Bears games and has worked Fire matches for nearly a decade" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/15).
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