Photo: Getty Images
A diabetic Rams fan from Rancho Cucamonga went through a traumatic experience when he and his son tried to attend the NFC Championship game at SoFi Stadium about two weeks ago.
Marc Alcala has been a lifelong Rams fan and currently is a season-ticket holder, but he experienced something he never anticipated to go through. Being diabetic, in the past Alcala has been allowed to bring in certain snacks into SoFi Stadium to help maintain his blood sugar level. In the past he has brought in snacks like crackers, oranges, and a soft drink, but when he tried to bring these snacks into the NFC Championship Game, a confrontation between him and security ensued.
Alcala told ABC7 Los Angeles, that he asked for a supervisor numerous times, but was ignored:
"I already had scanned my ticket, and I was waiting for my son to come back, and they had him right there, 'you're not gonna take that stuff in,'"
He continued by saying,
"I asked for a supervisor. A lot of times, and they ignored me."
Due to his blood sugar potentially dropping at any time, without notice, standing in a long concession’s line is not an option for Alcala. He described this to ABC7 Los Angeles:
"It takes a long time to go through that line," ... "So you bring your own stuff. It's legal to bring it in because it's for medical reasons."
After the first confrontation with security at SoFi Stadium, Alcala then offered to throw the snacks away so he could get into the stadium, but security told him that they were not going to let him into the game and that’s when his experience got worse.
"I didn't put my hands on the (security officer), but I tried to just push through the guy,"
Alcala continued by saying,
"To get to where I gotta go. Like, I wanted to go get my seat. The game was starting."
Following this, Alcala was placed in handcuffs.
After being placed in handcuffs, Alcala’s 26-year-old son got involved trying to get his father away from the guards, but according to Alcala, the security then pushed his son to the floor.
"To see your son like that, on the ground, it's not cool,"
Alcala stated.
Following this confrontation, they left the area and were not admitted into the stadium. According to Alcala, employees in the ticketing office issued an apology to him and his son for what took place and also allowed Alcala to enter the stadium. When Alcala got to his seat, it was halftime and they had missed half of the game.
Alcala told ABC7 Los Angeles that a representative then proceeded to offer them tickets to another event, but that was not sufficient to Alcala. Alcala stated,
"A representative offered to go to a practice and get, like, signatures, but what is that? Is that going to make me feel better after taking my son on the floor?" … "I don't want to sue anybody. I just don't want to see that happen to nobody again."
ABC7 Los Angeles reached out to SoFi Stadium to get comment on this situation. SoFi Stadium released this statement to ABC7:
"We take all guest complaints seriously and have launched a full investigation."
The Los Angeles Rams are set to take on the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday at 3:30 PM for Super Bowl LVI from SoFi Stadium!
Click here to read the ABC7 Los Angeles article and watch the news story.