This afternoon the Chief Operating Officer of the New England Revolution, Brian Bilello posted a response to the actions of the team, TeamOps and Foxborough PD against Rev supporters in The Fort. The following is taken directly from the team's Facbook page.
"
Unfortunately there was an issue last night in the fort which was a culmination of multiple weeks of complaints from many of our STH who do not sit in the fort. This was related to one particular chant which our supporters' liaison has spoken to the supporter group leaders about on multiple occasions this season. Our organization has ...been extremely supportive of the fort, giving them as much freedom as we can to support the team in their own way. However this one particular chant has been causing issues with our other STH for some time. Frankly I think it is sad that our supporters place so much priory on being able to yell one particular chant 10+ times a game with profanity that upsets many other people in the building. This is not about occasional swearing, or an eruption of passion it is about for some reason needing to swear in an organized, loud manner every time the opposing goaltender takes a goal kick.
We will be discussing the matter internally and with the supporters groups over the upcoming weeks, but make no mistake, the issue last night was about a member of the Revolution staff (our supporter's liaison who has worked with them for years) asking on behalf of the organization to once again stop using that chant. This was ...not a security issue. While some members of the supporters groups and fort tried to help the situation, others took this as an opportunity to escalate the situation. I will not get into an online debate with people who may or may not have been at the stadium last night, nor will I allow this to be presented as an example of how this organization doesn't care about our fans or our supporters. Again, we will be reaching our soon to the supporters groups to discuss last night and how to create a better atmosphere moving forward.
As for claims that we are somehow not treating our most loyal fans right I take great exception with that. Every one of our STHs show at least the same amount of loyalty and dedication to this team turning up week after week and year after year and our organization owes just as much service and response to them as we do to our S...TH in the fort.
Thank you all, and thank you for your continued support.
Go Revs
Brian"
Wow, this wasn't forced at all huh? He's full of crap!
ReplyDeleteIt sure looks like the way it was handled was completely wrong and could have possibly ruined the relationship you have with the strongest supporters group within the STHs.
ReplyDeleteWatching the Portland game while reading this. It would be nice to be part of that instead of the pee wee soccer environment BB craves. Sad and pathetic.
ReplyDeletePosting this response from a friend who wishes to stay anonymous:
ReplyDelete" As a witness to some of the disciplinary events of last Saturday's game I would like to offer a response to Mr. Bilello's statement. I acknowledge his lack of interest in engaging in a discussion, so please do not mistake this for an attempt to do so. I am of the opinion he has said quite enough and I am convinced, sadly, that he fails to see the whole picture.
Here is a brief synopsis of what I experienced on Saturday. When someone in my party was deemed to be worthy of suspicion (of taking video), 3 of us found ourselves very closely surrounded by no fewer than 3 police officers and at least 4 members of Team Ops. There was no video to be found per Team Ops search (is that even legal?), and we left without further ado and of our own volition, perplexed and a bit disgusted by the show of force and strong-arming undertaken by Team Ops. I take great exception to Mr. Bilello stating that it was not an issue of security, for at no point during the exchange for which I was boxed-in by armed officers, did I feel safe, despite being a law-abiding ticket holder. So, when Mr. Bilello says there is no issue of security, I argue the exact opposite. I would definitely say Gillette has a security issue on its hands if a passive and non-threatening female does not feel safe going to the stadium for fear of dubiously lawful intimidation and opportunistic searches.
Lastly, I would like to note that we fans in the Fort are not all knuckle-dragging hooligans that "place 'priory' " (I think Mr. Bilello meant priority) on swearing indiscriminately in public. Given his willingness to make such an insinuation, I suggest that Mr. Bilello try a little harder if he wants to convince us that he respects all STH equally. It is an irrefutable fact that chants embraced in otherwise family-friendly stadia worldwide can be a bit vulgar. I appreciate your desire to maintain a family-friendly environment, but to create a police-state atmosphere to achieve that is ludicrous and counter-productive.
I have enjoyed many Revs games and will continue to extend my support from the comfort of my living room. I'm sorry to say I am compelled to urge my loved ones to do the same."
"As for claims that we are somehow not treating our most loyal fans right I take great exception with that. Every one of our STHs show at least the same amount of loyalty and dedication to this team turning up week after week and year after year and our organization owes just as much service and response to them as we do to our S...TH in the fort."
ReplyDelete**It sounds like he is saying he takes exception to the fact that people think the fans in The Fort are the most loyal fans. He is not saying that he is upset people think they do not treat their "most loyal fans" well or that the org did something wrong that he wants to say sorry for. Rather he is trying to imply people in the Fort are not the "most loyal fans". The great exception he takes is that he thinks all ticket holders are the "most loyal fans"...aka...many of them also pay more for their tickets then those in the Fort and who wants the fort people anyway? Maybe they assume people in the fort will just go to the games no matter what. Did they just arrest people in the fort? Do they have evidence of the specific people who still added to the chant? Do they realize that not all people sitting in or near this area are in one of the supporters group or under their control? Hey...here is something simple...use some of the additional people sent in to arrest people and instead have them stand where you walk down to your row and before you can sit in the row and simply ask them to read the statement about the chant and initial next to their seat number about the notice/policy. Hand out a cardboard fan or some seat card/poster with the notice of the policy on one side for a game or two. There are SO many things they could have done. This COO is pathetic and cant seem to manage a key part of the operations of a team which involves the fans. He could not get all the kids arrested who made fun of him when he was a kid so now he gets to be the big man who gives people criminal records just for sitting in that section. He should loose his job. No one is saying people have to give that chant, but the fact that arresting fans and treating them like crap for being in the supporters section is the only thing he could come up with means his days of useful ideas are done and he should step down before he really damages the team.
What a shameful reply. How arrogant can they be. He's not "going to get in an online debate" translates as "because I said so".
ReplyDeleteThis will be the end of the Revolution as we know it. This guy is going to drag the team into the ground and as an avid supporter I see no reason to waste my time anymore when they obviously don't care about our opinions.