It's a known fact that San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers can sling the ball all over Qualcomm Stadium.
It's a lesser-known fact that he would be breaking the law if he were to sling the ball all over the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot before a Chargers game.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported that a 27-year-old Chargers fan, Jesse Unger, was ticketed by police for throwing a football in the parking lot at Qualcomm before the Chargers Oct. 14 game against the Indianapolis Colts.
To be fair to the San Diego police, they asked Unger to stop when they saw him throwing it. According to the Union-Tribune, he thought they were joking - until they wrote out the ticket.
The newspaper stated that throwing a football is forbidden in the Qualcomm parking lot. It is the first rule listed on the city's Parking Lot Policies and Procedures web page.
The Union-Tribune went on to report that the citation literally listed "playing ball" as the infraction. One of the officers at the scene told Unger that if he were Unger, he'd frame the ticket to note how ridiculous the ticket was.
Police told Unger the ticket was $60, but he went online and discovered that the fine actually was $280. So Unger went to Clairemont Mesa Traffic Court to contest the fine - even though he didn't have a defense, other than he saw no signs posted prohibiting the tossing around of footballs.
The Union-Tribune reported that the law, per San Diego Municipal Code 59.0502, does not allow anyone to "intentionally throw, discharge, launch or spill any solid object (including footballs, baseballs, Frisbees and other such devices) or liquid substance or otherwise cause subject or substance to be thrown, discharged, launched, spilled, or to become airborne."
Unger told the newspaper that the judge said the law was in place for the sake of public safety - that footballs flying everywhere posed a danger to drivers navigating the lot.
The judge, however, told Unger that he would suspend the $75 fine if Unger pleaded guilty. The judge told Unger he thought the $280 amount for the fine was "ridiculous."
Unger pleaded guilty, and the judge dismissed the ticket.
The Union-Tribune reported that three other NFL stadiums besides Qualcomm have a similar policy: LP Field in Tennessee, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and CenturyLink Field in Seattle.
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