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Miami Dolphins ban brawling fans, but fan violence and arrests aren't uncommon

Frank Schwab
NFL writer

It’s not that unusual to find a video taken on a smartphone of NFL fans brawling in the stands, or outside in the parking lot. The unusual part of a fight from Sunday’s Miami Dolphins game is the fans involved won’t return to the stadium.

The Dolphins announced that the fans fighting in the video, who weren’t identified, had their season tickets taken away and are banned from Hard Rock Stadium according to the Associated Press. The fight happened in Sunday’s Dolphins win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Fans being arrested at NFL games is fairly common. The Washington Post ran a long story last month outlining how many arrests happen at NFL games. Three teams – the San Diego Chargers, New York Jets and New York Giants – average more than 20 arrests per game, according to the Post’s study. Through the league last season, among the 30 teams that provided information to the Post, there were 6.34 arrests per game. The Post’s story outlines some violent incidents that have happened inside and outside NFL stadiums recently.

It’s fair to assume the combination of alcohol, testosterone and intensity over the outcome of the games plays into the trouble. And while isolated incidents that get filmed often go viral and make the problem seem more widespread than it probably is, even a few incidents at NFL games are not a good look for the league.

At least the Dolphins did what they could to help prevent a similar situation in future games.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!