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Hank Williams Jr's famous opening phrase is gone from Monday night football following a comment about Obama.
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So much for "free speach" -
Do you even have the remotest idea what "free speech" means?Originally posted by Shockfan8
The only protection afforded by free speech is against action taken by the government on the basis of your speech. There is no speech protection for the action non-governmental actors take in response to your speech (other than what other activities are illegal - such as assaulting someone you disagree with).
There is nothing inherently illegal nor immoral about a company firing someone for behavior that reflects poorly upon the employer.
Free speech means that you can't be prosecuted for voicing your opinions, it doesn't mean that you get to avoid any and all consequences of voicing your opinions."Cotton scared me - I left him alone." - B4MSU (Bear Nation poster) in reference to heckling playersComment
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I believe ESPN had and has every right to fire whomever they want, whenever they want.
And I as a consumer have every right to not support their advertisers if I disagree with that decision.
I think Jr. used an extremely poor analogy, regardless of what he intended.Comment
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Totally agree, Hatter. And Doc.
What I find interesting is ESPN saying they and MNF are all about sports and entertainment, not politics. But didn't they make a political statement by firing someone for comments they made only in the political arena?Comment
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Whenever you drop the "H-Bomb" in a comparison there are going to be consequences.Wichita State, home of the All-Americans.Comment
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+1Originally posted by RoyalShockComment
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Perhaps to an extent, but the very problem for ESPN (and the reason for the firing) is that the comments pulled them into a situation in which they could not avoiding making a political statement. Once Williams made those public comments, ESPN was suddenly put in a position of either retaining his services, which would be seen as a political statement, or not retaining his services, which would be seen as a political statement.Originally posted by RoyalShock
By firing him, they could not avoid make a somewhat political statement (just as they couldn't had they kept him), but at least by firing him they avoid dealing with future statements by him that would put them in the same situation."Cotton scared me - I left him alone." - B4MSU (Bear Nation poster) in reference to heckling playersComment
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Just curious, if I walk up to my boss and tell him to "F off" and he fires me, did he violate my freedom of speech? People who post questionable stuff on Facebook and then get fired, is their free speech getting infringed upon? Of course not...Originally posted by Shockfan8Comment
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It was the babbling, almost contradictory nature of the message, in my opinion, that made Hank Jr either sound like a nutcase or a morning drunk, and that is what truly caused him to get the axe.
Had he delivered his position in an articulate manner I wonder if the result would have been different.
Case in point: Curt Schilling. He is an outspoken conservative yet also an analyst, correct?Comment
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+1Originally posted by shoxlax"Cotton scared me - I left him alone." - B4MSU (Bear Nation poster) in reference to heckling playersComment
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Not sure he should have been fired but he did a fine job of looking like a complete moron all by himself.I have come here to chew bubblegum and kickass ... and I'm all out of bubblegum.Comment
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They could have come out and said that his comments had nothing to do with ESPN, NFL, MNF or sports and that it has no affect on their intro to MNF.Originally posted by The Mad Hatter
But I get your point. What is sad is that people get overly emotional about this stuff and force the hand of those like ESPN in this situation. This country needs to grow some thicker skin.Comment
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:lol: Spell check people!Originally posted by Shockfan8“Losers Average Losers.” ― Paul Tudor JonesComment
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:good:But I get your point. What is sad is that people get overly emotional about this stuff and force the hand of those like ESPN in this situation. This country needs to grow some thicker skin.
Exactly!"If you're going to do it, you're going to do it right," athletic director Jim Schaus said. "If we're going to put 'Wichita State' across our chest, then every team is going to matter."Comment
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