No more booing at Washington sporting events and free speech

I saw on tonight's PTI episode that the Washington's high school athletic association is investigating a ban on booing. See Officials Weigh Booing Ban at High School Games. Now, as most people would innately cry out, the first amendment precludes the state from imposing a restriction on free speech, and to a certain degree, they are right. And yet that is not necessarily the case. I haven't taken a course on First Amendment, and my knowledge is limited to what I've picked up in the Barbri review course, but I seem to recall it comes down to the O'Brien balancing test.

Assuming that the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association is a state run organization (which I think is a fair assumption if it covers public high schools), no one validly complains about their controls over who can participate in athletics (e.g., GPA or age requirements). The booing ban would be a similar exercise of power. The restriction, presumably, would serve to ban booing (presumably a form of speech) from the stands in certain athletic contests. Whether this restriction is narrowly tailored enough remains to be seen and the state will obviously have to show that it is. I'm sure it can be worded carefully enough and if they are smart, it will be.

So, if the court finds that the restriction is narrowly tailored, it will next determine whether the booing ban serves an important or substantial interest. Here, I don't think there will be any problem finding one - it's a high school, with minor and impressionable kids, and all they will have to do is point out a few incidents that justify it and it should survive the court's intermediate scrutiny. Having been on both sides of the stands, I think booing is just part of the game but obviously there have been cases of parents going overboard. Plus, the booer is just a licensee to the game anyway, and the ticket has limited rights as it is. Maybe high school sports are huge in Washington (obviously they are elsewhere) so trying to curb unsportsmanlike conduct may be enough of an important interest to survive this step.

The last step would be to determine if there are ample alternatives for communication. Obviously you can still hold pep rallies and put up signs like "crush the cats" or something like that. If it's that bad, you can write an email to ESPN or your local newspaper and maybe they will pick up your story. The rule probably isn't preventing the coach from complaining to the ref either. I think it would fly.

So, on my brief and unresearched analysis, I think the restriction will be okay. But maybe under Washington's state constitution it wouldn't be, I don't know. It does seem that more restrictive impositions than this booing ban have been upheld as of late. Just ask that nut Cindy Sheehan about her "free speech zones." (note: I tried to find an unbiased article to support this comment but was unsuccessful).

Despite my finding that the restriction would be upheld, I just wonder how they will be able to enforce it. My guess is that the threat of it may be enough to deter "over-the-top" booing (which is probably what the ban is trying to get at) and if that makes the games a little bit more pleasant for the other fans, then it will serve its purpose. And if the ban is not upheld, the people pushing for it can sit on the other side and throw their taunts right back at them.

Tags: washington, booing ban, first amendment