This afternoon I was banned from Dodgers stadium forever for riding my bicycle around the Dodgers parking lot.
Here is the story. My housemate and I were cycling around the area and decided to go up the hill into the stadium and ride around for a bit. There was a security guard who yelled, “Hey guys,” at us, and I did what I do when most rent-a-cops yell at me, I kept rolling. I figured that two cyclists passing through would be the least important thing for a security guard to worry about. It didn’t cross my mind that it would be a big deal.
Soon we were being followed by a Dodgers security vehicle and when he got on an intercom, we decided to pull over and talk with him. It was the respectful thing to do. When we pulled over he got out of his SUV in an extremely aggressive posture, and get this, he pulled out his baton as if he were preparing for a fight, on a Wednesday afternoon, with two cyclists riding through, in the middle of an empty Dodgers parking lot. We didn’t get the chance to say anything before he began faux arresting us, demanding that we put our bicycles on the ground, and demanding that we put our hands on the front of the SUV and, saying that we were going to be brought somewhere. He was incoherent and changing his demands every other sentence.
Thank something that we have had this happen to us a million times with security guards and police that we both remained calm. No, I take that last sentence back. Fuck anyone who thinks that they can take that authority on me. I have the right as a human being to not being oppressed, and this guy was an agro fuck.
He said things like, “This is private property, if I found you in my back yard I would hold you at gunpoint, and arrest you.” He never let either of us finish a sentence. He interrupted us every time we spoke, and we never once interrupted him. Typical.
Anyway, he harassed us some more and gave my friend a bunch of shit for not having a California ID, but said nothing to me for not having one, and said that we had to get one with in six months of living in California, which is not true. I don’t think I have heard the same thing twice from two cops about that law and it really pisses me off. They always use it as the first thing to fuck with you, even though it really is meaningless. Most laws are selectively enforced, but that isn’t the only thing that makes police wrong and immoral.
I doubt he had the legal right to do shit to us anyway. Ignorant wanna be pig.
It ended with us being banned from the premises forever. Yes, forever. How they will enforce this is beyond me, and frankly the Dodgers can go fuck themselves.
Peace. I am now an Angels fan. Fuck, I hate baseball, I just want to ride my bicycle and not get hassled. Freedom from oppression, freedom to potential. -Mikey Wally
Tags: Banned from Dodgers Stadium, Dodgers, Dodgers Security, Dodgers stadium, Dodgers suck, police
May 14, 2008 at 6:25 pm |
that’s pretty lame. i know tons of people who have either learned to ride a bike or drive in that parking lot. shit, i’ve ridden my bike up there for games before. i suggest you ride up there every time there’s a home game just to give the guy a hard time. it’s the least you could do. let’s get a ride to go up there.
but please, please don’t become an angels fan, mikey.
May 14, 2008 at 6:40 pm |
thanks for the kind words.
im probly going to edit the post and talk about how we met eric from the bike kitchen after the ride, and tell how he used to ride onto the actual baseball diamond back in the day and no one used to care.
it is a useful unused space.
and! aparently there is this year round dodgers plan to incorporate use of the space, eh hem, commercial use of the space, where people will be on the premises more. i dont know anything about it though.
your blog kicks ass. its really empowering to see womyn LA cycling bloggers.
i see your into punk funk electro too. check out ed bangers podcast.
May 16, 2008 at 9:38 am |
[...] please not bike in the plaza. Mikey Wally, apparently trying to add CALTRANS to the list of places he’s banned for life, sort of sang along to some Queen belting out "I love to walk my bicycle; I love to walk my [...]
May 16, 2008 at 5:00 pm |
Speaking of CALTRANS, I once went on a ride with some CALTRANS folks to check out the bike parking situation up at Dodger stadium. The guard wouldn’t let us in.
Congrats on being banned. Baseball is really boring anyways–way too much standing around.
May 16, 2008 at 5:38 pm |
awsome.
May 17, 2008 at 10:15 pm |
I used to work at Dodger Stadium. Those security guys — the beefy ones in the SUVs, not the lame rent-a-cops — actually are police officers moonlighting for extra money. They take everything superserious and always act like they think you want to kill them.
Anyway. That really blows. Sorry you had your day effed up.
May 19, 2008 at 1:53 pm |
Duuuuuuuuuuuuud: What is the asshole’s name? What’s the license of his vehicle or its fleet number? Why no letter to the Dodgers organization? Are you seriously just gonna go root for the Halos and let this tard-o-pig perpetuate his ignorance!? I don’t know what’s more heinous: that dick’s behavior or your willingness to let it stand. Fight back!
Coincidentally a friend of mine and I are going to bike up there for this Friday’s game.
May 19, 2008 at 5:52 pm |
I had a similar experience up there with my girlfriend a couple years ago. We’d just finished building her bike at the BiciCocina and went to the stadium to test it out w/ LA traffic madness… after a few minutes of free-for-all riding, sure enough, overly aggro rent a cop with a mega phone… threats, kicked out. Jerk.
Too bad… that place is gorgeous… I have a video from it somewhere….
May 25, 2008 at 6:42 pm |
dude, you have serious issues with authority. . .
June 21, 2008 at 4:11 pm |
That is ULtra LAmE. I ride in the Angel Stadium parking lot all the time. In fact the police do motercycle drills in the parking lot during the week. I have never had anyone say anything to me or look at me for that matter..
April 28, 2009 at 11:38 am |
You’re an idiot. They’re not cops and it IS private property.
April 28, 2009 at 11:45 pm |
Man that is such a coincidence, my name is Wally and I’m also banned from dodger Stadium, but for a different reason. I was there on opening day and after the game I was hanging out with my friends who were parked at the 76 gas station. It was on the opposite side of where I was parked so I had to walk all the way around. Ofter he left my girlfriend had to use the bathroom so they let us into the Pavilion. After we went to the bathroom I saw some dude walk through the bullpen and I thought it would be a good idea to walk through the field to get to the other side. Long story short some fat lady ran up to us before we made it anywhere near third base and started walking us up the stairs through the field box area. The fat head security guard started to push me in the direction that I came from and I was trying to explain that I needed to get to the other side. I got fed up with him pushing me and blocking my way so I retaliated and pushed him off when suddenly a gang of 8 security guards tackled me to the ground. Dude, they took me to Dodger Prison, I never even knew they had a holding cell there. I’ve been in fights and only kicked out of the park, and that is more serious. Anyways, I was so mad I took off my $150 Dollar Majestic Dodger Jersey and threw it on the ground, that’s how they made me feel, I’ve thought about rooting for the Angels but I can’t, I still like the Dodgers but I still feel Dodger Security has a Stick up their ass and needs to stop thinking they are cops, even if they are cops in some other agency they’re nothing but rent a cops when they are there. As a vivid bike rider, I think we should organize a day (during a day of course) to bike to dodger stadium, maybe with critical mass or night-riders or someone, but that would be the shit to go up there and ride our bikes and make them chase us all around the lot
who’s for it?????????????????