During a match between Russian players Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova at the Cincinnati Open, a fan was removed from the crowd after holding up a Ukrainian flag.
A spokesperson for the tournament stated the flag exceeded the permitted banner size. “Per the Western and Southern Open’s bag policy, as stated on the tournament’s website, flags or banners larger than 18 x 18 [inches] are prohibited.”
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Whether it was the size of the flag or what it implied, it got the attention of one of the players on the court who seemingly complained to the umpire. She can be seen climbing down from her stand to address the fan before returning to her seat.
The patron was then approached by the head of security who informed her the size of the flag was too large and would need to be removed. Upon removal of the flag, she would be able to re-enter the tournament to spectate.
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The fan spoke to a local news station following the incident saying, “This is not Russia. This is the United States of America. We had our Ukrainian flag, not doing anything crazy, distracting players, but wrapped around, sitting there peacefully and quiet.”
She went on to say the umpire told her she needed to remove the flag and upon refusal, the security guard told her the police would be called if she did not leave.
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Following the incident, a local non-profit organization called Cincy4Ukraine confirmed to media it had contacted a civil rights attorney to see if the fan would be able to press charges for having her First Amendment rights violated.
While the debate continues over whether or not Russian players should continue to be banned from competitions around the world, it’s clear there are still individuals who are vehemently against it and are happy to show their distaste in a public venue.
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