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Correspondence to Queens College and PS 499
Follow-up Letter to Queens College and public school community Sept 10, 2025
Dear Mr. Twible and colleagues from Queens College, PS 499, parent teacher representatives and team members,
I am following up to inquire whether any progress has been made over the summer to resolve the serious community safety concerns that I brought to your attention earlier this year regarding foul balls exiting Hennekens Stadium.
I want to reiterate that I’m only contacting you because a QC student athlete contacted my organization to alert us to this matter, and expressed concern about the climate of anxiety among his team members brought on by the presence of school children in the surrounding vicinity within reach of a foul ball.
Now that the school year is underway, I’d like to know what actions have been taken by QC to address this risk and review compliance with NCAA safety regulations, mental health policy obligations, and basic principles of duty of care owed to the surrounding community.
I’d also like to reiterate that this problem is not isolated to the Queens College scenario. There is a nationwide pattern of risk from balls flying outside of ballparks.
A woman in Modesto, California suffered a traumatic brain injury from a foul ball that struck her head while she stood in line outside a minor league ballpark during batting practice.
A Tennessee resident contacted me about a high school baseball field where the risk of foul balls landing on the adjacent soccer field means the school doesn’t allow both sports to host games on the same day.
At another high school ballpark adjacent to a residential neighborhood, a family is scared to let their kids outside during practices and games as balls regularly fly into their house and yard.
We’ve all seen and heard about broken windshields in parking lots near baseball diamonds, at every level of the game. It’s not uncommon at all for potentially dangerous balls to fly around in areas where unsuspecting bystanders are in harm’s way.
This is an issue that is surely affecting other student athletes all over the country.
The fact that your student athletes are stepping up and acknowledging their own anxiety and having the courage to come forward is commendable. They are modeling responsible behavior that others have not yet exhibited elsewhere.
While I look forward to your reply and hope to hear of positive steps taken, I believe you owe the student athletes a direct response and resources to support their mental health in relation to this safety threat.
Sincerely,
Jordan Skopp
Foul Ball Safety Now
info@foulballsafetynow.com
718-627-6767
Letter to Queens College and public school community July 23, 2025
Re: Follow-Up on Fan and Student-Athlete Safety at Hennekens Stadium
Dear Mr. Twible,
Thank you again for your earlier response and for taking the time to consider the safety concerns we raised about Hennekens Stadium. Foul Ball Safety Now remains deeply committed to ensuring student-athlete well-being at sporting venues. We appreciate your willingness to review this matter in detail.
In the time since our last correspondence, we’ve continued to evaluate the conditions at Hennekens Stadium through the lens of NCAA safety regulations, mental health policy obligations, and basic principles of duty of care owed to the surrounding community.
We remain concerned about the stadium’s physical layout and its relationship to the broader community, including the proximity of the field to PS/IS 499 School. The potential for injury to students, school staff, and other community members because of foul balls leaving the field is real. In our view, the combination of limited netting and the stadium’s placement next to a school raises questions about whether sufficient precautions are in place to protect the public.
We have heard from players who describe experiencing ongoing stress stemming from the fear that a batted ball could seriously injure someone. No athlete should bear the weight of that fear while trying to compete. NCAA policies make clear that member institutions must foster an environment that protects and supports the physical and mental health of student-athletes. This obligation includes a responsibility to remove unnecessary sources of distress and to ensure players are not placed in ethically compromising situations during practice or play.
We urge Queens College to review this matter in collaboration with its Sports Medicine Team, which may be in the best position to evaluate the psychological toll reported by student-athletes and to recommend appropriate institutional responses.
We would also appreciate a written response addressing any steps Queens College is taking to support student-athletes’ mental health in relation to this ongoing concern.
Thank you for your continued attention to this matter. We are hopeful that Queens College will act swiftly and thoughtfully to ensure the safety of its players, fans and the neighboring community.
Sincerely,
Jordan Skopp
Founder, FoulBallSafetyNow.com
718-627-6767
Letter to Queens College and PS 499 May 6, 2025
Subject: World Series summit on foul ball safety
Dear Queens College, PS 499, parent teacher representatives and Knights baseball team,
Now that the college baseball season is over, I believe it is the right time to convene an urgent meeting to review and respond to ongoing threats to fan safety around Hennekens Stadium, where protections against dangerous batted balls are insufficient.
How do I know?
I was alerted recently about this threat by one of your student athletes who was feeling anxiety and expressed this to me, and he also said it was the sentiment of his teammates. I was reminded of that exchange recently when I was contacted by a law firm representing a woman who is suffering from a lifealtering brain injury after getting hit by a foul ball standing outside a professional baseball facility in California.
The Knights players have concerns regarding the safety of children and adults in harm’s way from balls leaving the field, whether into the stands or over the fence. These players say they’re wondering among themselves who might be the unlucky batter who seriously injures or kills an unsuspecting pedestrian on the sidewalk on Reeves Ave or a child in the adjoining schoolyards of PS 499.
College players can hit the ball plenty hard and far enough to threaten innocent bystanders, let alone fans who are actively watching the game.
Balls flying at heads anywhere pose an unacceptable risk. To be clear, you are just one of many facilities who appear to have unsafe conditions. The question I pose is straightforward: do you have the courage to start a dialog to face this problem head on?
What I’ve heard from your student athletes recently has inspired me to respond, and that’s the spirit in which I reach out to you now. I’m a sounding board – offering a voice for the anonymous players, and my own expertise leading an ongoing advocacy campaign called Foul Ball Safety Now, which I founded in 2019. We’ve collected more than enough testimonials from both victims and players to confirm this problem remains a very important matter to address in 2025.
This compels a conversation, a productive dialog and systemic review that leads to a solid action plan to prevent fan injuries.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank you,
Jordan Skopp
Founder, FoulBallSafetyNow.com
718-627-6767
P.S. Queens College Knights baseball team players are receiving this letter directly via social media messaging.
cc: The Knight News