GLENDALE, Ariz. — After an Arizona Cardinals season ticket holder was forced to throw her Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat in the trash at a game last weekend, conservative activist group Turning Point USA set up a tent and passed out MAGA hats before the Cardinals game Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
What happened to Susan Rosener made national headlines this week when a security member of a third-party company told her she couldn't enter State Farm Stadium with her black MAGA hat on. She was told by security that it violated the stadium's policies on prohibited items.
The Arizona Cardinals issued a statement to 12News on the incident, saying the security member "misinterpreted" the stadium's policy on on prohibited items.
TEAM STATEMENT: In an isolated incident at Sunday's game, a stadium security member misunderstood a policy on prohibited items. Like most venues, "signage, posters, flags, or displays that are….political in nature" are not permitted. However, that did not apply in this instance. Moving forward we will work to provide clarity to all stadium personnel in these situations. We have also reached out to the individual involved to communicate that their experience was not consistent with our policies and practices and to apologize for that.
"I believe you have the First Amendment right to support whoever you want to support," Brandon Wilhelm, a Lions fan sporting a MAGA outside the stadium said.
He and his sons said they spoke with Susan on Sunday outside the stadium and felt like what happened to her was equivalent to censorship of one political viewpoint.
"You can support by wearing and saying whatever it is, because that's what makes America the greatest country world. There's no real other country where you can say exactly what you want, speak on your mind, say what you support," Jordan Wilhelm said.
Rosener said she received a call from the season ticket manager for the AZ Cardinals this past week. She received an apology and said the season ticket manager was extremely nice.
"She just said, I'm sorry this happened to you. That's not what we want," Rosener said.
Rosener said she's been inspired by the amount of people who have reached out and expressed their support for her ability to wear clothing she believes in.
"Be free to express yourself with whatever political stance you have," Rosener said.
Turning Point USA representatives were registering people to vote and were passing out MAGA hats, now that people are confident they can wear them and get inside the stadium without issue.
"We wanted to help share her story and get it out there, and make sure that we spread awareness of this kind of thing, make sure that it's not happening again, and make sure that people know their rights and to stand up for those rights," Turning Point Field Representative Alyssa Goncales said.
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