I've seen incredibly bad behavior many places, not just Utah. I've heard Karl Malone called an "Uncle Tom." I don't have to describe the sort of taunts – including crude signs – that followed John Starks to the playoffs in Dallas after he had a testicle surgically removed.

At Colorado State, a fan came down the stairs at Moby Gym to yell religious slurs punctuated with obscenities at then-coach Roger Reid. During the Ladell Andersen era, a large portion of the Wyoming crowd chanted "(expletive) you, BYU!" repeatedly. It's also where a Utah assistant football coach's mother got punched in the face at a football game.

Reggie Minton, who is African-American, said he often heard racial remarks around the WAC when he was coaching at Air Force. At Utah State, toilet paper and a milkshake were tossed on the floor during one basketball game, and a Boise State player slipped on the mess, tearing cartilage in his knee.

I've heard Jazz, BYU, USU and Ute players called "(expletive) Mormons!" several places around the country — even when they weren't LDS.

BYU players say they have had beer poured on them by Utah football fans. A Salt Lake sports writer got hit in the face by a metal ingot thrown from the stands at BYU's Marriott Center.

A fan beneath the basket at UTEP dropped her pants to distract a BYU player from making a free throw.

Classless, crude, hurtful and sometimes even dangerous behavior.

But fact is, fans are the same, unless their team is so bad it doesn't matter.

There's always someone who takes it too far.

The NBA and NFL have written codes of conduct that are posted and announced at every game. They expressly forbid "disruptive behavior" and "foul or abusive language" and obscene gestures.

So all that needs to be done is to enforce such measures, right?

Throw the bums out.

Except that a few ushers and security people can't watch 20,000 basketball fans or 60,000 football fans at once.

The only way to avoid the problem is personal restraint.

I know, it's a kooky idea. But what a concept.

e-mail: rock@desnews.com