Thursday, August 31st 2023, 9:37 pm
Parents and fans of Booker T and Del City were able to go to Thursday night’s football game with peace of mind.
They entered the stadium with new safety measures in place following several gun scares at high school games last weekend. Both teams had their first games of the season cut short last Friday because of gun-related incidents.
The teams were originally scheduled to meet on the gridiron Friday night, but the matchup was moved up a day so more police officers could be on site. That was just one of several changes.
Upon entering tonight’s game in Del City, fans walked through weapon detectors and were only allowed to bring clear bags.
Related: Oklahoma Schools Look Into New Security Measures For Athletics Events After Deadly Shooting
Parents like Kelvin Ross say these changes are good after his son’s game was called early last week when police said someone brought a gun inside Booker T’s stadium.
"We hate it for the kids, like our son is a senior. We hate it he didn't get to finish his first game of the season,” said Ross.
Kate Jones-Bohanan was also at Booker T's game and said it was unlike anything she’d ever seen. The extra officers and security measures were a welcome sight.
“They had the metal detectors there, they checked the bag. I think just having the presence is what is needed at all of these games and really at everything we do these days,” said Jones-Bohanan.
The clear bag policy is becoming more and more popular for big events.
“Tulsa Public had already instigated clear bags, so we had them last week and been using them for all the games everywhere, concerts,” said Jones-Bohanan.
Jones-Bohanan now cheers on Booker T as a booster. She knows all the student athletes put in a lot of hard work, and measures to prevent games from having to be cut short again are necessary.
“We’ve told everybody you just kinda gotta go with the flow, and adversity will come your way. It’s how you step up and be ready for it. I think the kids have done everything that we’ve asked of them this week,” said Jones-Bohanan.
Del City also has a policy that states once you leave the game, you aren’t allowed to come back in.
Del City captured the win against Booker T with a score of 48-0.
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