An Oilers fan gets taken away by police at Rogers Place after incident occurs
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Edmonton police removed a fan at Rogers Place, and the Oilers say the Alberta flag had nothing to do with it. Here is what the arena says really happened.
A video from the Oilers' 3-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 3 has fans across Alberta fired up, and the story has already changed since it first spread online.
The clip shows Edmonton police officers in a heated back and forth with a man in an Oilers jersey at Rogers Place.
Fans nearby can be heard repeating the words Alberta flag.
Officers eventually take the man out of the stands, and early posts claimed he was removed simply for waving the flag.
What the Oilers say happened
Oilers Entertainment Group answered through Stu Ballantyne, the president and COO of Rogers Place and ICE District.
He said security was called after a guest kept disrupting people around him and blocking their view.
According to Ballantyne, the man then used offensive language toward security staff and police before he was removed.
“During the Oilers game on Oct. 3 at Rogers Place, security staff responded to concerns about a guest who was repeatedly disrupting nearby fans and blocking their view. As staff worked to address the disruption, the guest used inappropriate and offensive language toward security staff and police officers, and was ultimately removed from the venue.
“The removal was based on his conduct and its impact on fans around him - not the flag.”
- Stu Ballantyne
“The removal was based on his conduct and its impact on fans around him - not the flag.”
- Stu Ballantyne
The team's position is simple. The removal was about his conduct and how it affected other fans, not the flag.
No Alberta flag is visible anywhere in the video, and Daily Hive reported that it first showed up in a pro-Alberta separation Facebook group.
The flag rule fans keep asking about
Rogers Place does have a rule on this.
Its guidelines ban signs, flags and banners larger than 11 inches by 17 inches, and management can remove any of them at any time.
The fan code of conduct also allows removal for disruptive behavior, including abusive language.
So the original claim and the arena's version don't match, and the footage alone doesn't settle it.
Some fans still want to know if the size rule gets enforced the same way every night.
For now there are two very different stories and one short clip.
Expect the debate to continue until more details come out.
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