By Todd Feathers
News Correspondent

Students, parents, and fans had mixed reactions to The Boston Blazers lacrosse team apology released Jan. 19 for their controversial halftime show Jan. 15.

During halftime the Boston Blazers’ mascot, Scorch, sat on a chair in the middle of the TD Garden and received lap dances from three volunteer fans. The incident garnered nationwide media attention after fans posted videos of the show on YouTube and criticized the team on its Facebook page.

Videos of the half-time show that surfaced on YouTube were removed citing a copyright claim by the National Lacrosse League.

Opinions about the show were mixed on campus. Ryan Fitzpatrick, a senior psychology major, didn’t think the show was as bad as it has been made out to be.

“If people just want to have a good time then you can’t really get mad about it,” he said. “It’s just kids having fun.”

Others, like Chardai Lyde, a freshman health sciences major, thought the show was extremely offensive. She characterized the act as a tasteless attempt to bring more fans to future Blazers games.

“Women, especially nowadays, are just becoming sexual figures, and I feel like we should, as a human race, go above that,” she said.

Doug Reffue, the Boston Blazers’ president and general manager, posted an apology on the Blazers’ website the day after the game.

“The Boston Blazers’ halftime act for Saturday’s game was clearly not executed according to plan,” he wrote. “We are extremely disappointed with elements of the halftime show.”

Certain details have caused fans to question whether or not the show was performed without the consent of team officials. A red carpet and chair were provided for the act, and after one of the volunteer dancers finished, a gong was played through the stadium’s speakers.

In his online statement, Reffue promised future halftime shows would be more appropriate.

“We have already taken steps to ensure this never happens again at one of our games,” he wrote.
He did not specify what those steps were, or who was responsible for the show.

In a separate statement, Reffue said the Blazers’ Sparks dance team members “were not in any way involved with the planning or execution of the halftime act.”

Reffue also said the Blazers were committed to the community and would “re-double our efforts to ensure a great experience at all future Blazers games.” Part of the team’s efforts to rebuild positive relations with their fans included providing 2,000 free tickets to the Blazers’ game against the Rochester Knighthawks Jan. 22. The team also hosted a “Carnival on the Concourse” at the TD Garden before the game against Rochester, where fans could win free tickets and all children under 14 received special prizes.

So far, those speculating the Blazers would lose fans because of the incident have been proven wrong.

Attendance at Blazers games increased from 8,536 on the night of the controversial show to 10,422 at their next game a week later, according to the National Lacrosse League. Reffue also offered 500 complimentary tickets to the game.

Reffue stands by his comments made in the press releaseand wants to move past the episode.
“We want to provide the bast possible experience for our fans and that’s what we’re attempting to do,” Reffue said.

– Taylor Dobbs, News Staff,
contributed to this article.