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Carolina Hurricanes fans next to a speech bubble with a censored swear word
Sports have an uncanny ability to induce levels of frustration and anger that make it hard to resist the urge to spew some obscenities. However, fans who attend Carolina Hurricanes games this season may need to be on their best behavior based on a clause concerning the use of profanity in the team’s Code of Conduct.
Sports teams have their hands full when it comes to policing the behavior of fans who attend a game in person, as you’re inevitably going to have to deal with some bad behavior at events involving tens of thousands of passionate spectators who may or may not be helping themselves to more than a few adult beverages over the course of a game.
Virtually every major league and venue has a written code of conduct that attendees are required to abide by to promote a welcoming environment. The NHL has a blanket policy that stresses respect, inclusion, safety, and empowerment, and its teams are able to supplement it with clauses of their own.
That includes the Hurricanes, who enter the 2026-27 season with a somewhat understandable rule that nonetheless seems like a bit of an overstep.
The Hurricanes can apparently eject fans from games for swearing in front of children
Sports teams have plenty of incentive to foster a family-friendly environment, but if you bring kids to a game, I think it’s fair to suggest you need to be prepared to encounter fellow fans who aren’t particularly concerned with the presence of impressionable youths.
There’s a solid chance their innocent ears are going to be subjected to some words they probably shouldn’t repeat, and in my experience, hitting the offending swearer with a “Hey, there are kids here!” is usually enough to correct their behavior. You may run the risk of sparking a confrontation, but you can always get security involved if that ends up being the case.
However, it would appear that people who attend Hurricanes games this season can go straight to that second step to deal with potty mouths in the stands based on a clause that was brought to my attention by a fan account.
The code of conduct at the Lenovo Center for the 2026-27 season contains close to a dozen rules that spectators are expected to follow, including “Be aware of your language and please avoid profanity around children,” a violation of which “may result in eviction from the arena without a ticket refund.”
It is worth noting that this is essentially an extension of the NHL’s policy prohibiting “foul or obscene language or behavior.” However, after examining the rules posted by other franchises, it looks like the Hurricanes are the only team in the league that specifically mention swearing around children.
As I mentioned above, this doesn’t seem like a particularly unreasonable policy, and I like to think fans who violate it will be given a warning instead of being immediately booted from the Lenovo Center for dropping an f-bomb.
With that said, you’ve been warned.