“This was last Saturday night at the game, you know, basically walking into the stadium, didn’t hear anything from anybody,” Michael Weitzel told KFTK’s Marc Cox Morning Show this week. “Didn’t realize there was any problem with my attire on the way out the door. You know, I have unfortunately only one red hat and that is a Make America Great Again hat.”
Weitzel was at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Mo., to cheer on the Saint Louis City SC soccer team when he was kicked out for wearing the distractive red hat donned by supporters of President Donald Trump. He is actually a season ticket holder who has committed to holding tickets for three seasons. Now, he isn’t so sure.
As he made his way into the stands, Weitzel said he noticed some people flipping him the bird, and then others jeering at him when he went to get a drink.
“I just kind of laughed at it,” he told Cox and co-host Kim St. Onge. “I thought, wow, these, these people have, uh, really let the political discourse get to them. You know?”
Even after those reactions, he didn’t think much of it. Weitzel said he has seen people with “No Kings” movement shirts at the stadium before and that the same day he was kicked out he spotted a LGBTQ+ Pride flags.
Then, with around 25 minutes left in the game, security approached Weitzel. He said they informed him that they had received a complaint about his attire and that he could take off the hat or leave the stadium. Although Weitzel refused to take the hat off, he said his interaction with security wasn’t awful. He explained that they seemed to be looking for a sign.
Per the Major League Soccer Fan Code of Conduct, displaying signs, symbols, images, using language or making gestures that are threatening, abusive, or discriminatory, including on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, ability, and/or sexual orientation is prohibited, as well as displaying signs, symbols or images for commercial purposes or for electioneering, campaigning or advocating for or against any candidate, political party, legislative issue, or government action. Weitzel said he does not believe the MAGA hat violated those rules.
“I didn’t have words with anybody. I didn’t get into any fights. I just tried to mind my own business and watch a soccer game,” he said.
Weitzel added that someone sent in an email complaint mid-game.
“Someone had taken the time to write a strongly worded email to management, letting them know how offensive and dangerous my speech was. And, you know, I think there was a little bit of confusion at first with what the problem actually was, but they quickly identified the hat and quickly sent some police officers to escort me out,” he explained. However, he also revealed that one of them was a Trump supporter themselves.
Overall, he said the police were respectful. Though he waited a bit to leave to make a stand about wearing the hat, he complied with them.
“I wanted to… to let people know that this is what happens, uh, this is the world we live in right now,” he told KFTK.
Weitzel also captured the incident in a video he posted to Instagram. He said that he can be seen fist bumping with one of the officers in it. Cox and St. Onge both remarked on his politeness in the video.
As for whether Weitzel plans to go back to Energizer, he said that he is a bit less enthused about paying for three years of tickets now. Having said that, he still wants to support the team.
“I do want to see them do well,” he said. “I don’t really want to let the actions of a few small-minded people or a few angry complainers stop me from enjoying something that I love.”