Bucs fan cancels season tickets in wake of protests

TAMPA (FOX 13) - A lifelong Bucs fan is handing in her season tickets after a round of protests by several players during the National Anthem.

Suzanne Reno's eyes have always lit up when she's talking football.

"I would go on Saturdays to LSU, drive to New Orleans on Sunday to see the Saints," she said. "In 2015, I decided I have lived here long enough, I need to be a Bucs fan."

She signed up for season tickets a year before then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started protesting the treatment of African Americans by police.

"I even remarked to my representative, make a note, the first knee that is taken, that disrespects this country, I will no longer have season tickets."

Then September 24, the day after the president called protestors a curse word, Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson took knees before a game in Minnesota.

It was Reno's last down.

"Protest. But not at football. I paid to watch football, not protests," she said.

Reno says she's even more offended because her husband was in Korea and served 20 years in the Air Force.

She understands she's out the money for the rest of this year's games that she won't attend, but wants a refund for the $200 she fronted for next year.

"My husband and I are both retired, and we have a fixed income," she explained.

Though she doesn't want it, the team has offered her store credit. The Bucs told us they will address canceled renewals after the beginning of the year. They also say Reno's is a relatively isolated case.

"I do believe that everyone has the right to protest," said Reno. "I do not believe it should be done on my dime without my permission."

The Bucs' owners released a statement several weeks ago saying the team recognizes every individual's constitutional right to freedom of speech, which is crucial to the American way of life we cherish.