Predators Fans Upset With Sentinel Columnist
Published on October 31, 2006 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Orlando Predators News Release
Gary Brandfass believes he has been labeled a racist. He's not happy about it. Brandfass, who is owner of two successful local companies, is a long-time Orlando Predators season ticket holder who was deeply offended after reading Jemele Hill's column in today's edition of the Orlando Sentinel.
Hill's column centered on Hooman Hamzehloui, an Orlando Magic season ticket holder who created a national stir by allegedly calling Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo a "monkey" at last Thursday's Orlando Magic game.
Hamzehloui had his season tickets revoked and has also been barred from all NBA arenas for the entire season. At the end of the column, Hill quoted Hamzehloui as saying "I think they are losing a great fan...I won't be coming back to the NBA anymore."
Hill, who spent the entire column explaining how fine a line exists between ignorance, stupidity, prejudice and racism, then concluded her column with the line "If that's his attitude, he won't be missed. He would make a great Predators fan."
That line incensed Brandfass, as well as many other Orlando Predators fans who called an e-mailed the team's front office on Tuesday. "She talks about stupidity and then she essentially called every Orlando Predators fan a racist," Brandfass said. "I am deeply offended by the column and I believe her words are every bit as hurtful, uninformed and mean-spirited as what the fan said."
Steve Larson, who has been a season ticket holder for 16 seasons, was equally incensed. "I agreed with everything she said until the last sentence," Larson said. "Then it went from an intelligent, well-written column to a not so intelligent article. My entire row is full of long-time season ticket holders and almost all of them are professional people. We enjoy great entertainment at a fair price. To be compared to what that fan said is not appreciated nor should it be tolerated. I think she owes us an apology."
Jim Von Dyke is Vice President of Colonial Construction Services and was also offended. "It was completely unnecessary and uncalled for to insinuate that an entire fan base of a local sports team is racist. I wonder what the Predators organization thinks of you throwing their fans in with Mr. Hamzehloui? I think your statement is as "indefensible" as his," Larson wrote in a letter to the editor and copied to the Predators office.
Playing off of the Sentinel's request that all letters to the editor be kept brief and too the point, Predators season ticket holder Donna Karolick of Palm Bay criticized Hill for "slamming a broad spectrum of human beings" who make up the Predators family.
A season ticket holder since 1991, Kim Dannenberg said she was "shocked, hurt and downright appalled" at the final two sentences of Hill's column. "I sit around a group of wonderful fans, none of which have ever yelled racial slurs at anyone. As a matter of fact our section is a mixture of all races and colors. We enjoy each other's company so much that we keep in touch in the off-season. Your comment suggesting that Predators fans slander and slur is unacceptable."
Nancy Morris, President of the Predators Fan Club, felt that Hill's comments came from ignorance. "I'd like to invite her to a game. Then she would find out how much fun Predators fans have watching a winning team. We're passionate, we're vocal and we're proud, but we are not racist."
President Brett Bouchy said he was nearly speechless by the comment. "I think it is an insult to all 11,000 season ticket holders and every fan who have ever attended one of our games," Bouchy said. "To my knowledge we have never had an incident like the one discussed in Jemele's column and I think she owes all of our fans an apology."
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