HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – High school football starts next week in the Hub City and Hattiesburg public schools are taking steps to make athletic events safer ahead of kickoff.
“It’s a policy that we’re implementing to further our means of safety for our fans,” said Greg Carter, Hattiesburg Public Schools athletic director. “You know, our ultimate goal is to keep our fans safe at all of our athletic events, and we feel like this clear-bag policy is a step in the right direction.”
The start of a new football season means new rules for Hattiesburg Public Schools.
The district is implementing a clear-bag policy at all athletic events.
“It’s the first year that we’ll be implementing it,” Carter said. “It’s been a policy for most colleges for a few years now. So, it’s starting to trickle down into high schools, and with the surge in violent crimes throughout the nation at large events, we feel like we need to do a little something further to keep our fans safe.”
The clear-bag policy goes into effect next Friday, Aug. 27, at Hattiesburg High’s first home varsity football game against Petal High School.
There are a few other different regulations fans need to keep in mind before getting to the stadium.
“It’s a clear-bag policy so the bag has to be clear but the dimensions of it is… the largest is 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches,” Carter said. “Now, you can also bring in a one-gallon size Ziploc-type bag.”
Small clutches also are allowed.
“The small clutch doesn’t have to be clear, but it has to fit the dimensions of 4 1/2 inches by 6 ½ inches,” Carter said.
While it may take a little getting used to, it all comes down to ensuring a safe environment while fans cheer on the tigers.
“We understand that this policy is going to inconvenience some, but we feel like that the safety aspect of it far outweighs the slight inconvenience that it may cause to some,” Carter said. “We do apologize in advance for any inconvenience that it might cause.
Want more WDAM 7 news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
Copyright 2022 WDAM. All rights reserved.
