Dear Sports Fans: Stop Being Assholes to Sikhs at Games

Your ignorance is showing.

When people are afraid, they aren’t exactly known for their ability to see subtly and nuance. So maybe no one should be surprised that some dullards marred the football experience for a group of Americans last weekend by mistaking them for Muslim terrorists.

The reason? They were wearing turbans. But these turbans are not worn by Muslims, but Sikhs, an entirely different religion. Repeat after me: Sikhs are not Muslims.

Verinder Malhi told San Diego’s ABC 10 that he and a few friends drove seven hours from Fresno last weekend to watch their beloved Denver Broncos take on the hapless San Diego Chargers. But when they tried to enter Qualcomm Stadium, a security guard told them to remove their turbans. They refused.  Eventually, they were let in, but told not to return in their turbans.

“It’s bad, I mean, this is embarrassing for me, because we are Americans at the end of the day,” Malhi told the ABC 10 affiliate. “And we are not supposed to be afraid of fellow Americans.”

To make matters worse, Malhi’ car was visited by a bomb sniffing dog after a frightened citizen called the cops about a group of men putting a bag in the trunk. As the police found out, the bag was just a bag and the men were just football fans.

This story obviously sucks, and not just because the paranoid idiots at the game mistook a group of Sikhs for Muslims. The difference between the two religions is important to note, but it’s really beside the point. Even if the men had been Muslims, there would be no reason to suspect they were at the game to blow shit up. As it happens, most Muslims actually aren’t terrorists. You can yell and scream “bias” and “propaganda” all you want, but those are cold, hard facts.

If lunkhead football fans are looking for someone to harass at NFL games, they should stick to harassing the other team. And if they’re looking for someone to fear, forget the devout guys in religious headgear and look for the belligerent drunks stumbling around the parking lot. If you’re looking for the profile of a guy who will attack you at an NFL game, that’s it.