NRA vs. SEC

Sports will always come out a winner

How would most ( Razorback) red- blooded Arkansans like to get tossed from the Southeastern Conference? With no Southwest Conference to fall back on any longer, how about just going it alone for a few years until the Big [Whatever] decides to allow us to play football, baseball and basketball with them, or until our own Legislature gathers up its collective mind once again?

This isn’t hyperbole. Think about it: What would happen if the SEC decided that it didn’t want Arkansas? Specifically, if the SEC didn’t want its other schools to go into football stadiums or basketball arenas in which folks could be armed to the teeth?

The commissioner of the SEC was heard from this week. And, no, he didn’t suggest or threaten any such a thing. He just . . . said.

When the commissioner of the SEC treads into political waters, especially on a matter as controversial as guns, people listen. Even if he doesn’t say much. Or offer specifics.

Greg Sankey, the commish of college’s top conference, said the new law greatly expanding where folks can carry concealed weapons in Arkansas . . . creates concern.

“Given the intense atmosphere surrounding athletic events,” the SEC commissioner said, “adding weapons increases safety concerns and could negatively impact the intercollegiate athletics program at the University of Arkansas in several ways, including scheduling, officiating, recruiting and attendance.”

That’s a major athletic conference commissioner’s way of saying, “What the hell are y’all doing?”

After the new law was passed expanding where you could carry your 9 mm, somebody in the Ledge thought twice on the whole matter and decided lawmakers needed to pass an amendment to the law exempting college sporting events. Because we take sports seriously around here. Imagine the mayhem today if a wide-left field goal was called good for the opposing team in the last seconds. Now imagine if half the people in the stands had Glocks under their coats.

Or imagine this, a more likely scenario: A crazy person really does go nuts at a game and tries to kill people. As police and security guards rush to his section, they encounter not just him, but 80 people with handguns, all pointed at each other. You think somebody might have an accident? After the first shot, it’d be like the end of Reservoir Dogs, only with more bodies.

The commissioner of the SEC probably knows that. But in his capacity, he probably can only say the new law . . . increases concerns.

So let’s talk about what he said about those concerns-on-the-increase:

The new law “increases concerns” about scheduling, he said. That is, maybe football games don’t necessarily have to be played in Fayetteville, Ark. Why else would he use the word? And what about other conferences in, say, Conway, Magnolia, Monticello or Jonesboro?

The new law “increases concerns” about officiating, he said. Because you can hardly figure out what’s a charge and what’s a foul now. But if half the crowd is armed, an official might decide discretion is the better part of valor. And it’s going the other way!

The new law “increases concerns” about recruiting, he said. You think Bret Bielema has a hard enough time getting that tight end from New Jersey to pick this state over Bama? Imagine having to explain this law to Mr. Tight End’s mother in her living room in Newark, N.J.

The new law “increases concerns” about attendance. It’s dangerous enough to wear an LSU T-shirt to any game in Arkansas. If things go all Raider Nation around here, how much revenue would be lost as out-of-towners decide to watch from home?

We’d call the new law expanding concealed carry an NRAbacked measure, except some have suggested the NRA doesn’t think it liberalizes gun-toting enough. Which is crazy talk.

Before the letters start flying in, be sure to understand that this column does not think that concealed-carry folks are the problem these days. They most definitely are not. It’s the 19-year-old male (and they are almost always male) on the street with a pistol and little respect for it, or life, who makes the papers. And not in a good way. The 200,000 or so Arkansans who have concealed-carry permits probably do more good than harm as far as everyday crime is concerned.

But do you want to be walking through the crowded stadium exit when a shot accidentally goes off, creating a stampede? Would you like your college-age daughter to be in the crowd?

Let’s be reasonable, folks. Exempt college sports from the new law.

And consider this a valuable lesson for our friends at the National Rifle Association:

Don’t go up against football in Arkansas. You’ll lose.