When 60 - year - old Gregory K. Murreyfell to his deathduring an Atlanta Braves biz in August 2015 , he became the 24th fall - related human death at aMajor League Baseballpark since 1969 . Murrey was standing at his ass near the front of Turner Field ’s 400 level , allegedly heckle Yankees batter Alex Rodriguez , when he abruptly fell over the segment ’s railing onto a concrete paseo about 50 foot ( 15 meters ) below .
According to one witness , Murrey seemed to have had some sort of " aesculapian emergency " straightaway before the crepuscule that could have caused him to lose consciousness . " He went from a good , excited fan to silent immediately , " Justin Arnoldtold Atlanta ’s 11Alive News . " He would have been able-bodied to catch himself if he were witting during the dip . "
Murrey ’s destruction was the third gloaming - related human death at Turner Field , which opened in 1996 in Atlanta . ( A 30 - year - old homo ’s 2013 fall down dying at the bowl was decree a felo-de-se , and in 2008 a 25 - twelvemonth - old world died while trying to slide down a railing in an interior stairway . ) Between 2003 and 2013,14 hoi polloi died in fallsat collegial and professional mutation events in the United States .
Thanks to the 2009 book"Death at the Ballpark,“by Robert M. Gorman , there is a wealthiness of information on falling deaths at baseball games , but there have n’t been any official compilations of statistic for other sport and arena . Still more difficult to get hold is information on nonfatal autumn , of which there have been many over the years — these incident are report to the conference , not to the populace , says Elizabeth Voorhees , director of authentication for theNational Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security(NCS4 ) at the University of Southern Mississippi , and teams are pretty tight - lipped about sharing the information .
Even the quickest search on falling last makes it clear that inebriant has played a purpose in many of these deaths — intoxicate , foggy - eyed fan are evidently more likely than sombre watcher to trip up on steep step or take risks like slide down step railings . But each of these horrific accidents always triggers a debate about how far teams should go to protect their rooter and precisely what measure , if any , should be strike to prevent more spill .
On one side are the people who argue for alcoholic drink restriction , railing - height standards and safety nets . On the other side are those who think that fans are ultimately creditworthy for themselves and that nets and higher railings would unnecessarily obstruct views . Voorhees believes there is n’t a one - sizing - fits - all answer . " The facility can do its good to manage the endangerment by doing things like not overserving , " she say , " but there ’s only so much they can do . "
As it stands now , Voorhees say , no professional or collegial leagues have across - the - add-in rail tallness standards or safety - connection requirements . installation designer must stand by to the International Building Code ( IBC ) , but the choice to overstep those essential ( or not ) is generally left to the squad . TheIBC requires a 26 - inch ( 66 - centimetre ) railingin front of seated area and a 42 - inch ( 1 - meter ) railing around undefended - sided area like walk .
Some teams have immediately jumped into activity after a falling death . In 2012 , the Texas Rangersraised the railings in Globe Life Parkfrom 33 to 42 inches after a sports fan fell to his last trying to recover a foul ball that was tossed to him . But other teams have resisted change — the Braves have n’t raised the railings at Turner Field , and the squad has declined to reveal the plans for its new sports stadium , which will open in 2017 . Major League Baseball , for its part , seems to be in a constant body politic of re - evaluation and negotiation .
At the end of the day , you are your own best protective cover against a fall . " People take on personal responsibility when they enroll a bowl , " Voorhees says . " You mitigate your risk as best you may . "
