Two Students From The Same School Murdered, Leads To No Fans In The Stands At Football Game
A view from above shows the Gately Stadium stands almost completely empty during the game between Simeon and Phillips. Only players, coaches, press, cheerleaders and band members were allowed inside. Fans were not allowed because of concerns about violence after two Simeon students were murder during the week, in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2021. (Vincent D. Johnson)
A few weeks back I was sent out to cover a high school football game on a Saturday afternoon, which is about as normal a fall weekend as I can get when it comes to assignments from The Chicago Tribune. Sadly the coverage of this game came with a twist, there would be no fans allowed in the stands.
While 2020 and Covid had made this a more common occurrence and the reasoning behind the empty stadium was indeed health concerns, this was from a more immediate safety situation, after two separate murders of Simeon high school students earlier in the week and fear of reprisals that could have happened at a large gathering.
Empty stands create a stark backdrop as a Simeon football player stands and removes his helmet for the National Anthem before their game against Phillips at Gately Stadium in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2021. (Vincent D. Johnson-Chicago Tribune).
Sadly the story never made the paper or even a story on the Trib’s web site. News cycles work that way sometimes. In an ironic twist this wasn’t the first time I had photos for a story that would have ran in the Tribune focused on Simeon football at Gatley Stadium.
While I can’t give this story the same publicity it might have gotten in the paper, I can also see where this would be just another black eye for the city as it struggles with violence, I thought it was a unique situation juxtaposed with our current Covid situation and moment in this time where we are struggling with dangers from several angles.
Phillips’ stands had more camera operators for a Comcast broadcast than it did fans. It had nothing to do with the team’s performance this season and everything to do with the fact their opponents Simeon, had two students murdered during the week and spectators were not allowed at the game out of safety concerns at Gately Stadium in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2021. (Vincent D. Johnson-Chicago Tribune).Phillips’ students Jason Robertson (left) and Jay Armour (right) watch from behind the fence that surrounds Gately Stadium. Fans were not allowed into the stadium because of concerns about violence after two Simeon students were murder during the week, in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2021. (Vincent D. Johnson-Chicago Tribune).The Phillips band and cheerleaders were the only people in the stands, besides members of Comcast’s broadcast team, as spectators were not allowed for their game against Simeon, as concerns about safety were raised in the wake of two Simeon students being murdered during the week, in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2021. (Vincent D. Johnson-Chicago Tribune).
Phillips’ quarterback Tyler Turner (17) passes against Simeon. Empty seats were the backdrop for the entire football game between Phillips & Simeon at Gately Stadium, as the murder of two Simeon students this week prompted precaution for the game, in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2021. (Vincent D. Johnson-Chicago Tribune).
Jackie Elzy (left) and Keisha Jones celebrate a big play for Simeon from behind the fence near the north end zone of Gatley Stadium. Elzy’s son Malik was playing for Simeon, but fans were not allowed in the stadium, in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2021. (Vincent D. Johnson-Chicago Tribune).Fans watch the Simeon vs Phillips football game at Gately Stadium from the outside, as no fans were allowed after violence early in the week left two Simeon students dead, in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2021. (Vincent D. Johnson-Chicago Tribune).
