‘Giving me attitude’: NHL fan lets loose at arena security

An ice hockey fan has ripped shreds off of the arena security at an NHL playoff game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.

The Lightning were in hot water over this incident. Source: Getty Images, YouTube

The playoffs in American sports often bring out the best in the athletes taking to the pitch, court or rink.

But for the fans, the playoffs can also bring out the worst in them.

We take you to Tampa Bay in Florida, where the town’s NHL team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, were facing off against the Florida Panthers.

Before the puck had dropped, there just had to be some trouble in the stands.

Watch Selected Live Coverage of The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs with ESPN on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

A father and his 11-year-old son, both Panthers fans, had decided to don the colours of their favourite team.

However, the Lightning’s security staff were simply not having it.

As any good father would, this man decided that the whole ordeal just had to be recorded.

The male security guard, who’s simply trying to do his job, politely tells the father that he doesn’t want to talk to him in front of his son, who for this entire encounter is an unfortunate bystander.

The father responds: “No, my son is already afraid. He’s already scared.

“He’s come to the game to cheer on his team, and for some reason we’re not allowed a jersey.

“I don’t agree with it.

“Gary Bettman (Commissioner of the NHL) should not allow this.”

Clearly unbeknown to the man behind the camera — but common knowledge for all of the stadium security with the Lightning organisation — the Tampa Bay outfit actually had a ticket policy that explicitly stated there were to be no opposition jerseys.

In fact, the Lightning have had the policy in place since 2015.

If one was to wear a rival shirt, they’d either be supplied with a change of clothes or they would receive a refund for their ticket and asked to leave the arena.

The man brought up that a Lighting exec informed him that he and his son could wear the jerseys, but the security detail wouldn’t take that for an answer.

So much so that the female security member throws down the ultimate threat.

“Well, sir, if we come back down here we’re getting TPD (Tampa Police Department),” she said.

Yes, there’s nothing quite like getting the police involved on an 11-year-old simply because he’s wearing his team’s jersey.

The Lightning have definitely delivered on the ice, but not off it. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP)

If that wasn’t bad enough, the Panthers man brings out his ultimate trump card.

Pointing directly at the female security guard, he emphatically states: “This is an attitude.”

The back and forth continues, before the man eventually stops recording.

Interestingly enough, the Lightning told ESPN that they will no longer enforce the ludicrous jersey policy after the video went viral.

Just imagine the scenes if something similar to this happened in Australia.

Won’t someone think of the children?!

Originally published as ‘Giving me attitude’: NHL fan lets loose at arena security