Herald editorial board

According to reports from Forum News Service, the NFL is investigating the behavior of unruly fans in Philadelphia before, during and after the Eagles' January win over the Vikings. And according to those reports, the league will announce changes that will be implemented going forward.

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If so, this is good - both for the fans and for the league itself.

By now, most everybody knows the grief Vikings fans took at the playoff game against the Eagles. According to various reports, purple-clad fans were sworn at, targeted by flying objects and physically threatened by Eagles fans who gathered en masse outside the stadium before kickoff.

It's not too difficult to believe since numerous videos online appear to back up the claims, and also because unruly behavior and foul language has become so typical at NFL games that attending one is losing its luster for many fans.

A few examples: In 2013, a man was beaten to death at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. In 2016, a man at a Baltimore Ravens game suffered a brain injury after he was attacked by fans of the other team. In 2015, a man was shot during a fight outside a Dallas Cowboys game. In 2014, a man was badly beaten in a bathroom at a San Francisco 49ers game. In 2013, police and stadium security had to clear an entire section at a Raiders-Chargers game due to a brawl.

This most recent season, video cameras captured a young Carolina Panthers fan repeatedly punching a 62-year-old man in the face during a game in Charlotte, N.C.

And all this as the price to attend games continues to soar. In 2016, the average cost for a family of four to attend a Chicago Bears game, for example, was $601, including four tickets, drinks, hotdogs, parking and other related expenses. That's a lot of money to spend to have people shout vulgarities in front of your children.

This is an ironic crisis, since it diminishes progress the league has made to reduce in-game violence. The NFL's efforts may reduce head injuries to players who have chosen this line of work, but 62-year-old fans who paid the price of a ticket are getting concussed in the stands and nothing seems to be done about it.

The NFL needs more cameras, more security and more punishment for season-ticket holders who break the rules-even if the season-ticket holder loaned or sold those tickets. Police departments need more undercover officers wearing visiting team jerseys.

The NFL also should consider game times. For example, the Eagles-Vikings game was at 6 p.m., giving notoriously rowdy Eagles fans plenty of time for pregame festivities.

And players themselves must speak up. For example, former NDSU star and current Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz failed to condemn Eagles fans for their violent behavior.

"That's the city, that's the culture, that's the passion they have for the Eagles," Wentz, a native of Bismarck, said of the treatment received by the Minnesotans and North Dakotans who ventured to Philadelphia that day.

Wentz is a promising young player who has only lost six fumbles in his two NFL seasons, but he sure dropped the ball on this one.

We hope the NFL doesn't do the same.