They Know Who You Are ; Pats Can See Names of All Ticket Resellers

Oct 19, 09:30 PM

Current Headlines: By ORYAN JOHNSON

Season-ticket holders past and present are outraged that the New England Patriots can now act like Big Brother and revoke seats from thousands of fans who resold tickets on StubHub.com.

The organization won a controversial court battle yesterday and now has the name of every fan who sold tickets on the Internet service.

"I should be able to do whatever I want with them, I bought the tickets," said one longtime season-ticket holder who did not want his name used for fear of retaliation. "If they went after StubHub and they won, the next avenue is to go after the 12,000 or 13,000 people. Let me tell you, I think they would lose season-ticket holders."

"I used to go when you could shoot a gun off in the stadium and not hurt anybody," he added. "I couldn't give tickets away."

The Patriots won't say what they plan to do with the names. Superior Court Judge Allan van Gestel said in his order the team has legitimate interests in knowing the identity of people who resell tickets through StubHub. The judge said the Patriots could use the information to sue fans, cancel season tickets, or tell law enforcement which fans broke the state's scalping laws.

StubHub said the Patriots want to monopolize the resale of tickets through their own reseller.

"Indeed, it is plain that the Patriots seek this highly confidential customer information to further their unlawful, anticompetitive campaign against StubHub and its customers," the company said.

In the past, the Patriots have revoked tickets of fans who resell on any site except the Patriots own TeamExchange Web site, which limits sales to face value. That Web site is run by Ticketmaster.

Tim OBrien of Wayland, a former ticket holder, said while Patriots owner Bob Kraft has done wonderful things for the team, he sometimes looks to make a buck at the expense of fans.

"There isnt a dollar that goes down Route 1 that he doesnt get his hand on," OBrien said. "It's a commodity that's worth something. He's trying to make sure he's not letting me make the money or let someone else make the money."

The Patriots say they are entitled to know who may be violating their rules and the state's law. The team says it is trying to ensure that fans get tickets at reasonable prices, not the sometimes exorbitant prices ticket agents charge.

The Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington, D.C.- based advocacy group, said the court order to turn over the names infringes on Patriots fans privacy.

"The Patriots, just at the beginning of the season, were filming opposing teams and accused of surveillance and given a slap from the National Football League about that," said center Deputy Director Ari Schwartz. "Now they're turning the cameras on their fans, so clearly there is a lack of understanding about what privacy is."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Originally published by By ORYAN JOHNSON.

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