LSU Football: Fan of Tigers Latest Victim in Saddening Rash of Postgame Fights

There has been another beating following a sporting event. This time, Marcus Mason, an LSU fan who was visiting West Virginia to see last week's AP Top 25 clash, was removed from his car and assaulted while waiting in traffic, according to Ben Kercheval of College Football Talk.

Mason, who was with his pregnant wife at the time of the incident, suffered several facial injuries, and two friends that were also in the vehicle suffered minor injuries. Mason's wife claims the beating was random because there was no way for the attackers to know of their LSU allegiance.

This is just the latest of a frighteningly high number of similar incidents this year, the most notable being Bryan Stow. The Giants fan was beaten outside of Dodger Stadium early in the baseball season and is still in the process of recovery as the season ends today.

It begs the question: What can be done to stop these vicious attacks?

It's unclear if alcohol was involved in the beating of Mason, and the mixture of sports and beer goes back as long as America and apple pie. That said, you have to wonder if beer muscles are the root cause of the increased aggressiveness.

You could never make professional sporting events an alcohol-free environment, but perhaps there should be a strict limit on the number of beverages any person can buy or an earlier cutoff for last call.

That won't quell the problem at football games like the one involving Mason, though, due to the high volume of tailgating. So, there has to be another solution.

Now, by the look of it, this was more of a random act of violence than a sports-based crime. But based on the time it took place, it will be grouped in with the other athletic event problems.

Sports are supposed to be a release from the day-to-day grind of the working world, and it should never reach a point where a fan is scared to visit an opposing ballpark, arena or stadium. Old-fashioned trash talking is fun. Putting people in a coma isn't.

Hopefully, this problem can be nipped in the bud before the black cloud gets any larger. And best wishes to Stow, Mason and all the other beating victims.