Charlotte, NC PBR Almost Cancelled At The Last Minute

No matter how you feel about the powers that be when it comes to rodeo at any level time and time again things happen that prove that they have the best interest of the sport, the fans and the competitors in mind.

It is probably not well known that this weekend’s PBR event in Charlotte North Carolina came closer than ever before to being flat out cancelled. It seems that the arena has an issue with armed federal agents and performing their job duties.

In a heated social media post Sean Gleason explained his frustration when The Spectrum Center (Time Warner Cable Arena)  refused to allow federal agents who were performing duties as the events official color guard. The staff of the venue claimed that regardless of the fact that they were federal agents because they were armed were not allowed in the building. In his post Gleason went on to explain that after an hour and a half which involved lawyers, Charlotte Police (also baffled by this rule) escorted the agents into the building in order for them to perform their duties of presenting the colors before the performance. Mr. Gleason made a fabulous point when he said “And the irony is, the federal agents could have required the Charlotte police officer to surrender his weapon to them!!!”

One minute prior to Mr. Gleason canceling the performance the federal agents were escorted into the building in order to present the colors. Mr. Gleason made a strong promise with this statement “If we have the same issues tonight - which I have been assured we won't - the show WILL NOT GO ON.”

As the author of this article and a 12-year Army veteran who served as a member of The Old Guard which performs all of the ceremonial duties for Washington D.C. to include escorting the president I believe it is pertinent that some things are brought to light. Any time our nations colors are presented in Color Guard form it is policy that the national flag is escorted by armed personnel. This is not only tradition but also a symbol of our loyalty to our nation.

It may be unorthodox to input personal opinions into a news related release but I as a veteran as well as all of the staff here at The Pepper Stewart Show feel it shows the ultimate loyalty to our country when it comes to the way Mr. Gleason handled this. It is not hard to imagine the tremendous headache that would come with canceling an event of this magnitude, but as Mr. Gleason emphasized the importance of the tradition of presenting the colors prior to any event.

We tip our hat to Mr. Gleason and PBR for standing strong in this situation, it proves the deep roots and heritage that is the sport of bull riding.

We would like to hear your opinion on the matter!
~ By: Phillip Kitts- Pepper Stewart Show Staff Writer