This is an opinion column

“Students whose school is not participating in the [athletic] event will be denied entry,” the Madison County Schools System (MCSS) policy states. The attendance and capacity restrictions read as if copied from “COVID-19: 30 Days to Reduce the Spread.”

Administrators hope to contain a game’s worth of poor behavior, but their policies are every bit as effective as many of the COVID edicts. We must get ahead of this nonsense before it spreads into other school districts and stadiums around the country.

The only restriction that should be in place to attend a high school football game should be purchasing a ticket. Even that limitation fades after halftime at most schools. Few American events are as open and community-driven as sports.

If a school can’t reliably maintain the safety of its players and fans, then it should shut down the program temporarily while it fires the entire administrative staff. The answer isn’t to bar teenagers from venues because they aren’t affiliated with one of the participating teams.

My family has friends at high schools all over the South. If I took my sons to watch their buddies play high school football in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, I’d lose my mind if my teen was denied entry because he’s not enrolled in one of the schools competing.

The new MCSS policy is in response to a “major disruption” at the football game between Sparkman High School and Hazel Green High School.

Madison County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Brent Patterson told WHNT that the disruption amounted to students rushing the field. According to reports, at least 18 deputies were on the scene. “There was no fight at Sparkman High School, ” Patterson told News 19. “No gun was found at the school, and there were no injuries at the school.”

Madison County Board of Education President Nathan Curry said deputies on the ground told him there was no credible threat determination and that many told him that students simply started running.

Allegedly there was some social media smack talk between the two teams prior to the game, and then…the running of the teens. While it’s possible that law enforcement missed an altercation, it shouldn’t make a difference in the response.

The obvious answer here is to keep non-participants from disrupting the game and remove those who refuse to comply. With 18 deputies, I’m confident any school could handle disruptions.

During the entire existence of football, smack talk between schools has been a reality.

If you want a Vestavia Hills defensive end to get fired up, just tell him that one of the princes from the “Tiny Kingdom” said his momma was ugly. That’s a Mountain Brook reference for the uninitiated.

Just think about all the awful things Alabama fans have written on social media about Auburn. If the Tigers could read those jokes, the Yellowhammer state would descend into bedlam.

Kidding aside, most of us take the talk in good fun and behave respectfully.

There are exceptions such as the Alabama fans who hurled slurs at the Texas players who were, at the time, kicking our butts. At every level, we should deal with such behavior swiftly and severely to set an example for others.

If kids storm a field and disrupt the game during play, round them up, get their information, and ban them from attending any more games this year. Call their parents. Make them clean the locker rooms after the game. The options for discipline are endless.

Don’t disrupt the opportunity for a community to come together around football.

From the time my family arrives at a high school football game until we leave, I almost never know where my boys are. They’re playing football with friends behind the bleachers, munching on pretzels, or trying to catch the bugs attracted by the stadium lights. They might be watching the game, but they never sit still long enough for me to know.

The whole community is there. That’s what makes it fun.

Teens are easy targets who get a bad rap. Even with developing brains, they certainly aren’t alone in poor behavior at athletic events. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen parents lose their minds and act the fool at high school games. Are we only going to allow adults in if they can prove their loyalty to the participant teams, pass a background check, and submit character references?

The whole point of schools with academics, sports, and extracurriculars is to teach and develop the next generation of humans in our homes, communities, and nation. It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that creating barriers to interaction with “outsider” teens is antithetical to that mission.

Since this is an educational matter, we should empower parents to make decisions. If Madison County School System parents want these policies to protect their high schoolers from teens who run their mouths and then run around the field, so be it.

I wouldn’t have it for a minute, and I don’t want it anywhere near my community. Our schools should be consistent and disciplined. Remove folks who are disrupting the sporting event for others. Targeting non-affiliated teens is a knee-jerk response that doesn’t even appear to address the problematic behavior. What’s to stop teens from two participating teams from doing the exact same thing?

Don’t worry though, MCSS has an answer for that as well. “IF SAFETY CONCERNS CONTINUE, THEN ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS FOR ATTENDANCE WILL BE IMPLEMENTED,” reads the online flier.

Nothing like threatening fans with more COVID-19 era capacity and attendance measures to force compliance. If that’s the attitude of MCSS, maybe they’re not best equipped to build up the next generation after all.

More Cameron Smith columns:

Smith is a recovering political attorney with four boys, two dogs, a bearded dragon, and an extremely patient wife. He’s a partner in Triptych Media, a business strategy wonk, and a regular on talk radio. Please direct outrage or agreement to [email protected] or @DCameronSmith on Twitter.