This could get ugly.
When Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced Tuesday that Bills and Sabres fans could attend Highmark Stadium and KeyBank Center in full capacity this coming season, provided they had proof of Covid-19 vaccination, the feedback was immediate … and it wasn’t positive.
Reportedly, Poloncarz was frustrated at the declining number of vaccinations in the county and concluded that opening Bills and Sabres home games to the public with proof of inoculation might encourage more signups and constitute a move toward herd immunity.
Vaccinated ticket holders would be verified via the New York State Excelsior Pass cellphone app.
But the problems are already myriad.
Start with the fact that while Poloncarz says he doesn’t need outside permission to mandate vaccination for attendance at Bills and Sabres games since the county owns both those teams’ facilities, NYS Gov. Andrew Cuomo disagrees.
“I don’t think the country executive is legally correct,” he said Wednesday, adding “… we tend to work in a collaborative with local government – legally, the state would have to sign off on it – and we’re just not there yet to make those decisions.”
From the outset of the pandemic, Cuomo has maintained policies involving the shutdown and reopening of businesses would be made by the state.
Meanwhile, Olean native John Elmore, now a well-known Buffalo attorney, speculated in a TV interview that Erie County might, in fact, have the right to stipulate vaccination as a function of protecting public health.
WHAT’S CERTAIN IS, this divide isn’t going away.
There are some fairly basic problems with Poloncarz’s initiatives, though he’s also gotten his share of praise from the vaccinated members of the public.
Start with the verification method.
Lots of people have smartphones … but not everyone. What about those who don’t have access to the Excelsior Pass app?
And how does Poloncarz’s decree apply to Bills and Sabres fans who live either out of state or out of the country as both teams have a substantial number of season ticket holders from Canada?
There are no exemptions for religious or medical reasons, so what about children who are too young to be vaccinated?
And, can you imagine the mob scene at entrance gates before kickoff or the opening faceoff with fans – especially tailgaters at Bills games who wait until the last minute – frantic to have apps scanned, ticket holders who inevitably forget their phones or those who merely protest the vaccination policy and gum up the entry process?
Clearly, this seems to be a policy that wasn’t well thought out.
BUT THE biggest issue will likely come down to personal freedom and individual rights.
We’ve already experienced the divisiveness of something so seemingly innocuous as wearing a mask.
Poloncarz admits that while everyone has the right to refuse the vaccine, they don’t have the automatic freedom of access to a sports venue.
“You have no guaranteed rights in the Constitution to attend a Buffalo Bills football game,” he said pointedly. “Our goal is to ensure that everyone in there is safe.”
But a vaccination decision is personal.
In my case, I couldn’t wait for that feeling of security from getting the shots, yet members of my own family can’t be convinced to get inoculated, my incredulousness notwithstanding.
However, requiring vaccinations to attend sports events will likely have to be decided in the courts. Do anti-vaxxers have the right to attend games, no matter the policy, because they distrust vaccines?
It’s a fascinating question that will almost surely produce an ugly legal squareoff over personal freedom versus public safety.
(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
