Colin Kaepernick Sentenced to NFL Limbo for the Crime of Speaking His Mind
Based on the headline, this writer (or whoever wrote the headline) seems to disagree with the NFL execs. I myself am pleased with this result, so I’m wondering whether any others agree with the writer.
As I see it, there are really two issues:
[ol]
[li]Do you agree with the sentiment Kaepernick was expressing? (Meaning, not whether you agree that there are racial issues in the US, but whether you agree that kneeling for the anthem is appropriate in light of these.)[/li][li]Assuming you don’t agree with Kaepernick’s actions/speech, do you think that free speech principles would require that people be shielded from the (lawful) consequences of that speech at the hands of citizens who disagree?[/li][/ol]
I myself would answer no to both questions.
While ordinarily I think it’s bad business policy for employers (or even potential employers) to get involved with the political expressions of their employees, I think it’s different here in that Kaepernick’s actions were done in the course of his employment. But even if that were not the case, that would only be a matter of business policy and not any sort of inherent right, I would think.
[Note: the above presumes that this writer is correct about the specific factors in Kaepernick’s present employment situation. Nonetheless, the issues themselves exist notwithstanding.]