You thought you had heard it all? Think again.
At the Charlotte Invitational Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competition in Charlotte, NC, the gate security crew at Time Warner Cable Arena, home of the Charlotte Hornets , the NBA franchise owned by Michael Jordan, abruptly denied admission to the six U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, whose official role includes presenting America’s colors during the singing of the national anthem at PBR events.
As the situation escalated, arena management told PBR, which was conducting the first of two nights of its Charlotte Invitational competition in the venue, that they would not allow the officers in full dress uniform, which includes firearms, to enter, on the grounds that the officers were armed and that weapons were not allowed in the arena.
Determined to defend the honor of PBR cowboys and thousands of loyal bull-riding fans, PBR told venue management that the competition would be cancelled and the spectators sent home if the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, who put their lives on the line daily for our safety, were denied admission and prevented from performing their official role presenting the flag to start the event.
PBR stood its ground in defiance of this nonsense and in a last-minute capitulation, arena management acquiesced, allowing the officers to enter and participate, accompanied by a Charlotte Police Department officer.
It is understood that Charlotte Police were not in a legal position to ask the federal officers to surrender their firearms in this confrontation and legal sources have confirmed that United States federal officers cannot be asked to remove their official firearms at the whim of private facility staffers. In fact, anyone interfering with these U.S Department of Homeland Security officers performing their duties would be violating the law.
PBR stated that it respects venue rules that don’t permit individuals who aren’t attending in an official capacity to carry firearms into a venue, but those rules don’t apply to uniformed federal officers who have an official role in the program, as they do at every PBR event.
In any case the presence of these highly trained federal law enforcement professionals increases the safety of everyone in attendance.
Incensed at the ridiculous and disrespectful way in which the officers were treated, Professional Bull Riders (PBR) boss Sean Gleason posted about the standoff on his Facebook page.
Gleason wrote: “Last night, I came within one minute of canceling the first PBR performance of the Charlotte event and the first BFTS performance that would have been cancelled in our history.
“The fine men and women of the US Customs and Border Protection color guard and others working their recruitment booth were not allowed in the building…what should have been a two minute conversation with the GM of the building turned into a 1 1/2 hour runaround involving lawyers and the most insane arguments and reasoning I have ever heard.
“I understand and appreciate that this building has a policy that prohibits firearms being carried by anyone who is not there in an official capacity. I have a concealed carry permit but would not expect to be allowed to carry a firearm into a public or private venue that did not allow it. But these were federal agents, in uniform, in an official capacity.
“It seemed very clear to me after 1 1/2 hours that this was a situation in which a ‘policy’ that has merit on the surface was being used to go beyond both reason and the law to force an agenda.
“After many attempts to resolve the situation,I made the decision to hold the performance until the federal agents, in uniform, carrying the American flag, were allowed in the building. If that delay was longer than 10 minutes we would have cancelled the event and provided a refund to our fans.”
His passionate post went viral with thousands of shares and heartfelt comments from fans who defended PBR’s steadfast support of the officers. At the second night of the PBR Charlotte Invitational on Saturday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection honor guard was admitted without incident.
The event was won by a 20-year-old rider, Kaique Pacheco, who’s featured in the Netflix documentary, “Fearless” leaving his home in Brazil for America because of the limitless opportunities afforded to professional athletes in the United States.
Ken Danieli is on Twitter @wittier.
