August 20, 2008

UVa athletic fans will have to leave their signs at home this year. Officials say they're eliminating all signs to promote and support sportsmanship on game day.

This decision comes after a UVa student held up a sign that read “Fire Groh” at a football game last year.

Now officials want to make sure nothing like that happens again, even if fans believe it may infringe on their first amendment rights.

Without big and bright signs cheering may be the best bet when it comes to showing school spirit at UVa athletic events.

“I understand if there are folks that are concerned about this but we certainly hope they will attend the game and provide vocal support for the athletics teams,” said Rich Murray, Associate Director Athletics, UVa.

To many this ban seems to contradict the founder of UVa's stance of free speech.

The director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Free Speech says this particular ban was the best attempt at addressing the problem.

“If a public institution university or government agency tries to restrict a particular view point or content then they get into all kinds of first amendment problems that can be avoided by a content neutral or a view point neutral ban.

Last year the university banned negative signs from games and O’Neil says the change to banning all signs is an improvement.

“The irony is that they may end up restricting a broader range of expressions but they can’t be faulted for singling out a particular viewpoint that is banning those that are critical while inviting or welcoming those who are supportive,” said O’Neil.

The University of Virginia is enacting a new policy that bans all signs at its athletic events.

The Charlottesville school notified students of the policy on Tuesday.

Athletics department officials say the change is intended to support and promote sportsmanship in a positive game-day environment. It applies to football and basketball games, as well as all other athletics events.

The new policy comes roughly a year after student David Becker was threatened with ejection from Scott Stadium during a football game for a sign that read "Fire Groh." Becker's homemade sign reflected a view of head football coach Al Groh.

Becker was then informed that the sign violated a policy banning signs that contained derogatory comments or profanity, or impeded another guest's view of the field or cover any stadium signage.