Posted on 09/25/2017 12:25:45 PM PDT by Jane Long
The First Amendment does not protect National Football League players from being fired.
The Constitution’s freedom of expression applies only to government action, not private businesses.
The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech.” It says nothing about private action or reaction. Thus, it is a public misconception that free speech or expression extends to the workplace. It does not, as the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently ruled.
Any business, as long as it is not connected to the government, is entitled to fire an employee for his or her speech and conduct within the workplace. The NFL and its teams are privately owned. They are not constrained by the principles of the First Amendment.
>>Snip<<
But even if statistics do not reliably show that offended fans are damaging a team’s finances, it is not necessary. If an NFL owner considers the players’ conduct to be disrespectful such that it reflects negatively on the club, this is enough for termination under the two contracts cited above. And, again, the First Amendment does not provide protection.
There are some who alleged that firing players would constitute racial discrimination. This misunderstands the law. It is true that racial discrimination in the workplace is forbidden everywhere in America under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But firing a player for his conduct is different than firing him for the color of his skin.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Yep, for most people their boss isn’t the government. The government has to guarantee you free speech, but not your private employer. If I was pulling stunts like this my boss would of fired me.
Ping!
The real issue is the league is totally on board with this idiocy to appease the ‘protected class” working for them.
They think they can control this but its going to spiral out of control. It always does.
Player protests in the middle of games, walkouts, etc.
They are trying to take the heat off themselves but its not going to work.
Agree. Especially if my antics were on my bosses time AND if they were adversely affecting my company’s image.
I think that the owners should offer the players a choice. They can insist that the players respect the flag and the National Anthem, or they can choose to bring their personal beefs into the football arena. If they choose to protest, the owners are then free to revisit their contracts and cancel them, if they like.
This is the perfect solution - the owners are free to conduct business in order to please their customers and make money (to pay for these highly paid snowflakes) and the players are allowed to put some meat into their protest....they can opt to put their money where their mouths are and leave the team.
Now, let’s apply the second amendment to this discussion about rights. As a CCW license holder, then I can tell my employer to hack off if his employee manual says I cannot exercise my licensed right.
I bet you are right on this. If the players think they can be so effective with just a little kneeling or sitting out the National Anthem, wait until they have bigger demands that are more important to them. The NFL will find that it has lost all control in a few short month, I expect. (Can’t wait to see it happen, but sad for those players who are patriotic and not buying into this BS crap....)
Spot on. I’m surprised at how many people I’ve spoken to that think the 1st Amendment protects the players. The people misconstrue the issue. The 1st Amendment “allows” the players to say or do whatever they want. It doesn’t protect them from consequences should they experience any.
Therein lies the difference between public and private employment. THe whole “fire” in a crowded theater thing.....
And Bennett is free to pump his Black Power fist after tackles without consequence — no conduct penalties — nada.
Just ask Ray Rice !!
the other misconception is that there is a contention from the uninformed media, that Trump’s comments imply that he’s against free speech. No one has protection from the “results” of his free speech.
I gather that if you were to take ten of these football players, and ask them why are they taking a knee, you’d probably hear some pretty far out answers.
I agree.
Unfortunately, the NFL commish - and several owners - are leftist, globalists who put politics/Marxism over country and fans :(
How does kneeling or staying in the locker room help even one person?
The NFL should donate all of this year’s tv revenues to the NAACP.
In a show of support, the tv networks should match the donation.
Money talks and bullshit kneels.
Good luck actually firing a player.
Now, a judge can't force a team to actually play a player, but, regardless, it's not going to happen. Especially if the player is somebody like the offsides machine known as Michael Bennett of the Seahawks.
Some other desperate team with no self-respect will pick him up.
Sadly, the league and the owners are pandering to their BLM players rather than who pays their salaries.
They can also regulate their conduct off the field. Take the job or leave it.
The various NFL franchises CAN fire the recalcitrant players, but they haven’t, yet.
There is an only very limited window of opportunity for the various NFL franchises to act, before the tarnish grows so great it cannot ever be redeemed.
Well, when those seats looks more empty than full, and nobody is ordering their merchandise, perhaps they will revisit their thinking....like Hillary (not that it helped her).
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