Towards the end of the Panthers’ game against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, Carolina fan John Small decided to hold up a sign that said “11-0” on it. A dumb move considering some of the fights that have taken place at AT&T Stadium this season (see here, here, here, and here)? Maybe. But he did it anyway.
It led to Small getting into it with several security guards who came over and reportedly asked him to stop being disruptive. According to him, he wasn’t doing anything wrong—other than maybe pissing off some Cowboys fans in the area—and didn’t deserve to be harassed by the guards. But they escorted him out and, when he resisted, one of them placed Small into a chokehold.
In the end, Small wasn’t arrested, and he was allowed to leave the stadium. But he put up a long message on Facebook shortly after the incident and is apparently urging local police to look into the treatment he received. You can watch a video of the incident above and check out Small's Facebook message below:
First of all I would like to thank all of you for the outpouring of support and your sharing of the truth of what happened Thanksgiving Day in Dallas. For those of you who may not know my mother and I flew to Dallas on Thanksgiving morning for the day to see the Panthers play the Cowboys. This trip was meant to be a way for us to mask the pain for even a few moments of the loss of My Dad one year ago that day. My father was my rock in everything that I sought in life, he was my mentor, my friend, my coach and the heart of our entire family. Our family is a huge football family and football has been a part of my entire life. We are loyal and we are avid fans, but we strive to always be respectful fans, especially as visiting fans.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
[via The Dallas Morning News]
