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What should sports teams do when fans behave badly?

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What should sports teams do when fans behave badly?


It took just two games for Major League Soccer’s newest team to face a fan-focused controversy.

Since its home opener on March 1, San Diego FC has been scrambling to address a homophobic chant used repeatedly by the home crowd and prevent a reoccurrence.

“What took place during our first-ever home match does not reflect who we are as a club or the values we stand for,” a Monday statement from the club read. “The sport of football brings people together, and in San Diego, that inclusive spirit thrives. The use of homophobic language in our stadium is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. San Diego FC is built on respect and the belief that soccer is for everyone. We are committed to fostering an environment where all fans, players and staff feel safe and welcome.”

Leaders in San Diego aren’t the first team officials to struggle to control sports fans, and they won’t be the last.

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Teams in all major sports, including BYU in college football and basketball, have faced bad fan behavior, but no standard solution has emerged yet, in part because every crowd has a mind of its own.

MLS expansion team

San Diego FC is new to the MLS this season. It’s the first expansion team since St. Louis City joined the league in 2023, according to Sports Illustrated.

The San Diego and St. Louis clubs met on Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego in front of more than 34,000 fans.

Throughout the game, the San Diego FC X account shared excited updates about the home opener, highlighting the pregame fireworks display and some of the high-profile Californians wishing the team good luck.

But after the game, team leaders were worried about more than the fact that it ended in a 0-0 tie.

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They had to balance thanking fans for offering their enthusiastic support, while also warning them that homophobic chants won’t be tolerated.

“I just want to make very clear that it has no place here,” said San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas on Saturday. “If they’re going to continue to come to the game and make that chant, it’s better that they don’t come here.”

Offensive chant in soccer

The chant in San Diego, which is less than 20 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, involved a Spanish slur that’s commonly used by fans of Mexico’s national soccer team, according to The Associated Press.

During Saturday’s game, the chant resulted in three warnings from game organizers on the stadium video boards and over the stadium’s PA system.

“The last of those warnings added an additional threat that the game could be abandoned if they did not comply,” per The Athletic.

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Those warnings are standard in the MLS and in FIFA, which have been on guard against that particular chant for years.

“It is a very complicated issue,” said San Diego FC CEO and co-owner Tom Penn to The Athletic. “It’s very emotional and it’s very divisive. But it’s not a difficult position for us to take. Our position is clear: we want to be a club that’s inclusive for all, one that is a source of entertainment and joy and fun. And this is the opposite of that, in that it creates such a wedge, and it’s so divisive.”

Several MLS teams, including the Los Angeles Football Club and Houston Dynamo, have been where San Diego FC is right now. And, for the most part, they’ve been successful in convincing fans to stop using the chant by simply having conversations with them about why it’s bad, The Athletic reported.

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In Mexico, on the other hand, soccer leagues have had limited success trying to convince fans to stop using the chant by hitting their pocketbooks.

“The chant … has cost Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines over the past two decades,” the AP reported.

Mexican teams have recently started using AI technology to identify which fans are still chanting so that they can dole out more targeted punishments.

“So much of the issue with policing the use of the chant at games is how unpredictable its use is and how difficult it can be to identify individual fans who participate in it,” The Athletic reported.

Addressing bad fan behavior

Another factor that makes chants hard to police is that they’re sometimes linked to a specific opponent and, for that reason, may occur only once per season or once every few years.

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Under those circumstances, team leaders will generally apologize and speak to their fans about appropriate behavior, but there’s not as much urgency to create new rules or punishments.

BYU athletes and fans have become familiar with that response in recent years as they’ve faced profane chants at a football game against USC in 2021, a football game against Oregon in 2022, a basketball game against Providence in 2024 and a basketball game against Arizona last month.

They’ve received apologies from their opponents, but there hasn’t yet been an NCAA- or Big 12-wide push to stop the chants once and for all.

When fan misbehavior is more serious, such as when fans physically interfere with an opposing athlete, home teams typically go beyond apologizing.

For example, after recent issues during Utah Jazz, Utah football and New York Yankees games, the home team worked to identify the fan or fans who created the problem and then took away their season tickets, banned them from future games or turned identifying information over to the police.

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Some combination of these approaches generally reduces the risk of future bad behavior, but team leaders are always on guard against new issues.

Penn told The Athletic that San Diego FC plans to clearly communicate what is and isn’t acceptable to fans ahead of the next home game and then enforce the rules when fans break them.

“We’re not going to reinvent the wheel here,” Penn said.

San Diego FC schedule

San Diego FC is set to play on Saturday against Real Salt Lake in Utah at 7:30 p.m. MST.

The club will next play at home one week later on Saturday, March 15, against the Columbus Crew.

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San Diego, CA

Francis Parker captures Open Division girls basketball title

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Francis Parker captures Open Division girls basketball title


OCEANSIDE — The Frontwave Arena scoreboard showed 23 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Up 16, Francis Parker’s win over Westview High School for the CIF San Diego Section Open Division girls basketball championship was secure.

“No, no, no!” Parker head coach Courtney Clements screamed to freshman guard Jordan Brown, telling her there was no need to score.

So Brown walked the ball up the floor, from the backcourt, across midcourt, a 1,000-watt smile etched across her face.

With no Wolverines defending her, Brown dribbled from side to side across the logo. Then, a fraction of a moment before the final buzzer sounded, Brown flung the basketball high toward the rafters, then was engulfed by teammates.

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The job was complete. Parker’s first Open Division title in program history was secure, the final reading 66-50 on Saturday night.

Of those final seconds, said Brown, who scored 23 points. “It was a surreal moment, knowing we worked for this all year long. It’s amazing.”

One reason it was amazing was because the top-seeded Lancers (21-7) were a decided favorite, but were stressed by the sixth-seeded Wolverines (20-9). Led by UC Santa Barbara-bound senior guard Sarah Heyn (18 points in the first half), Westview led 35-28 early in the third quarter.

“I just knew I had to do whatever it took to win,” said Brown. “Whether that was defense or offense. I just wanted to win, period.”

Sparked by its defense, Parker closed the quarter on a 14-0 run.  Westview’s final 11 possessions of the quarter ended with five missed shots and six turnovers.

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Still, the game wasn’t over. Heyn cut the deficit to 48-44 with just over six minutes to play on a bucket. But with 5:47 to play, Heyn was whistled for her fifth foul on a reach-in.

“Knowing their best player fouled out, we sealed the win,” said Brown.

As for Heyn, who finished with 23 points, she sat on the bench and pulled her jersey over her eyes, hiding tears.

Clements’ thoughts when Heyn fouled out? “I hope we can put this game away now.”

Francis Parker High’s Jordan Brown shoots against Westview High during the CIF Open Division championship at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. Francis Parker defeated Westview 66-50. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

That the Lancers did, outscoring Westview 18-6 down the stretch.

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The Lancers’ players and coach were effusive in their praise for Heyn, a four-year starter.

“She’s a great player,” said Brown.

“She played phenomenally,” said Clements. “She played the way you would think a senior would play in a championship game. She played desperately. She played every possession like it was the last 20 seconds of the game. She was extremely impressive. (Heyn buried five 3s, missing only once from deep.) She should be proud of herself.”

Clements was proud of her team for another reason. After blowing out two-time reigning Open Division champion Mission Hills by 26 in the semis, some thought Parker might cruise in the title game.

“I figured it was going to be a fight, and it was,” said Clements. “It was good that our girls had to come together, had to stick together. That’s what this is all about, developing character via the sport of basketball. When the kids face adversity, they have to make a decision. Who do they want to be? They showed the best version of themselves. That’s what I want to remember from a game like this.”

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Francis Parker’s primary color is brown, which is fitting for the girls basketball team. They are led not only by the freshman Jordan Brown, but also junior Brieana Brown, a strong, aggressive and athletic 5-foot-11 wing.

Brieana Brown scored 25 points and yanked down a team-best eight rebounds.

About the team in brown being led by the Browns (who are not related), Jordan Brown said: “It’s super cool. I love Bri and our story. So many people think we’re related, that we’re siblings. In reality, we’re not, but we play like it.”

Francis Parker High's Brieana Brown shoots against Westview during the CIF Open Division championship at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. Francis Parker defeated Westview 66-50. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Francis Parker High’s Brieana Brown shoots against Westview during the CIF Open Division championship at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. Francis Parker defeated Westview 66-50. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Francis Parker and Westview both will advance to the Southern California Regionals.

Earlier in the season, Clements — who was dressed in all black for the championship game — confessed she wasn’t crazy about Parker’s primary color. Her mood shifted Saturday night.

“Brown’s doing well for me now,” she said.

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Asked if Lancers’ Brown squared tandem represents the best one-two girls basketball punch in the San Diego Section, Clements gave the questioner a “What do you think?” smirk.

“That,” said the coach of the Open Division champions, “is a no-brainer.”



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5 things to know about Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei

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5 things to know about Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei



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San Diego, CA

Joan Endres – San Diego Union-Tribune

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Joan Endres – San Diego Union-Tribune



Joan Endres


OBITUARY

Born January 1939 in Cincinnati Ohio. Died February 14, 2026, in San Diego, California, with her sons at her side. Her beloved husband Dean passed away in 2010.

Joan was the only child of Thomas and Edna Palmer. In 1943, the family moved to San Diego, where Joan graduated from Helix High School in 1956.

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In 1957 Joan married Dean Endres of San Diego, where they raised two sons. Joan followed her two great passions outside the home, the Arts, and Gardening. Both activities being a way to bring beauty to others and to the community.

Joan received a degree in Environmental Design from San Diego State University, and afterwords worked at UCSD, for the Campus Architect.

As an artist, Joan worked in various media, especially ceramics. She was active in many cultural and arts organizations, eventually becoming President of the Combined Organization for the Visual Arts (COVA). Later she turned to gardening, with the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca Community College and the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County.

Joan is survived by her son Jeff and wife Katrin, grandson Jackson, and son Todd Endres, all of La Mesa, and sisters Alice Buck of Phoenix, Elaine Kennedy of San Diego, Nancy and husband Don Jones of Vista, Eva Budzinski of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and their children and grandchildren.

There will be a Celebration of Life for Joan in the near future. Those who wish to attend should contact celebratejoanuvart@gmail.com to receive details when they are confirmed. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests a donation to the Water Conservation Garden or the Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN).

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