Nashville, TN - A local football stadium permanently banned "the wave" this week after the rippling motion of the crowd triggered anxiety from a man who is afraid of oceans.
Charles Hammond IV has had a deathly fear of oceans since he almost drowned at Panama City Beach when he was three-years-old. While Hammonds IV, who is now 28, says he doesn't remember the event, his parents told him repeatedly growing up that oceans are dangerous and he should stay away.
Last Saturday afternoon, he attended his first live football game unaware that the crowd would transform into an undulating mass of arms and bodies that triggered possible memories of his near-death experience as a child.
He immediately spoke to the stadium manager and demanded that the wave be banned from the venue. Hammonds IV told reporters, "Maybe I'm crazy, but I believe people should be able to go to sporting events without the fear of drowning. We need to put a stop to this wave thing immediately."
At first, the stadium did not comply, but after a week of Hammonds IV protesting outside their management offices, they announced there will be no waves beginning this weekend. Hammonds IV said, "While this is a victory for sports fans/drowning survivors at this stadium, it is only one of thousands of venues in the United States alone. We still have work to do."
Hammonds IV says he plans to protest outside Nissan Stadium this Sunday afternoon. It is still unclear if he is aware that the Titans are playing in Charlotte, North Carolina.