Public perception of Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard appears to be summed up by taking one step forward and two steps back.
When discussing the possibility of selling alcohol in Jack Trice Stadium, Pollard took one of the worst stances imaginable, calling fans who consume beer “slobs.”
Pollard gave three reasons as to why the question of alcohol sales requires some nuance, and while the first one didn’t garner much of a response, the second two lit a massive fire on social media.
“It is a much more complicated issue than most people even realize,” Pollard said. “There are a whole host of issues servicing that. The stadium is not set up for it. If you think the lines are long today and the concorses get blocked by people now, add beer to it, and you aren’t walking through it.”
“My second reason is behavioral issues,” Pollard continued. “I get to see what our police department deals with post-game. People are slobs. People are flat-out slobs, and that’s without selling alcohol.”
Not only did Pollard call fans slobs once, but he doubled down in his third reason, saying, “Number three is I’m not convinced the people that buy our seats in the stadium actually really want it. They don’t want the drunk slob behind them spilling beer on them because they haven’t had their first beer ever.”
Understandably, Pollard’s comments made an uproar among Iowa State fans, with many on social media pushing back on the Iowa State AD’s vision. Regardless, the saga of Jamie Pollard vs. stadium beer appears to be one that won’t be going away anytime soon.
