CHARLOTTESVILLE – Space is at a premium in newspapers these days, and not all the people I spoke to yesterday made it into our story today on U.Va.’s decision to ban signs from all athletic events.

Among those who didn’t make the cut was Tara McKnight, a former women’s basketball player at U.Va. who’s now in graduate school there. She remembers seeing signs that said, ‘Thank you, Tara,“ during her final game at John Paul Jones Arena.

“I think it’s a shame that they had to ban [signs],“ McKnight said. “As a former student-athlete, I know how much it meant for me to have them on Senior Night. Those are memories I’ll have forever.

“It’s nice as an athlete to look up every now and then to see something encouraging the players.“

Football players aren’t always aware of what’s going on in the stands, U.Va. defensive end Alex Field said yesterday.

“Every once in a while on the field or the sideline, you’ll glance up at the jumbo screen and see a fan holding up a sign,“ Field said. “It might disappoint a few fans who make signs, but I think the players, me, I’m just focused on what’s going on on the field and playing the game. I’m not really too worried about it.“

Posted by Jeff White in • College Sports • University of Virginia
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