# Football players should express no opinion on same-sex marriage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 7, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939 "2012-09-07T01:40:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/21 "2012-09-07T03:58:20Z")
If they had only stayed in Cleveland, as God intended, they wouldn’t have these problems. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/22 "2012-09-07T04:00:44Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Well, his letter begins, “As a Delegate to the Maryland General Assembly…” > > But I’m more interested if the owner should take his advice. Yeah, he should. It’s bad business to take a stand on a controversial political or moral issue. It’s possible that a very publicly visible representative of your business could alienate a big portion of your customer base. If I was a movie producer, I wouldn’t hire actors who voice strong controversial political opinions. If I was owner of a sports team, I’d prohibit players from voicing strong controversial opinions. People who are public figures can’t help but represent their employer in a way that everyday people really don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/23 "2012-09-07T08:23:41Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Okay…and we’ll just take away your special anti-trust exemption and return you to the level playing field of the free market. And everybody’s happy… No? Um… Huh? What special anti-trust exemption? Isn’t that baseball? Did I miss a whacky Congressional flight of fancy somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Napkin\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8dc957/32.png) [@Napkin\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napkin_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/24 "2012-09-07T08:28:56Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > (I was roughly 6 inches away from one of them in a hotel pool once). Were they hard inches or flaccid? ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/25 "2012-09-07T11:48:28Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Yeah, he should. It’s bad business to take a stand on a controversial political or moral issue. It’s possible that a very publicly visible representative of your business could alienate a big portion of your customer base. If I was a movie producer, I wouldn’t hire actors who voice strong controversial political opinions. If I was owner of a sports team, I’d prohibit players from voicing strong controversial opinions. People who are public figures can’t help but represent their employer in a way that everyday people really don’t. What action would you take when players voice strong controversial opinions? Should Tim Tebow have been fired for his superbowl ad? Do you believe Brendon Ayanbadejo’s actions have had a measurable effect on ticket sales or advertising? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/26 "2012-09-07T11:55:52Z")
If we try to control the speech of any particular group, that speech will just be subject to the prejudices of those in control. Fame is certainly a platform for enhanced attention, but let them say what they will, and let us judge accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/27 "2012-09-07T12:07:27Z")
I’m torn on this issue. On the one hand, I would be much more comfortable if I never had to deal with the political opinions of people I admire for non-political reasons. So, if I’m a Ravens fan, I would be quite happy not ever to know the politics of individual players. On the other hand, if we give employers _that_ much legitimacy in prohibiting employees from taking controversial political stands, haven’t we essentially eliminated political speech for most of us? > [@Trinopus](#): > > Okay…and we’ll just take away your special anti-trust exemption and return you to the level playing field of the free market. And everybody’s happy… No? Unless I’m mistaken, only Major League Baseball has an antitrust exemption. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/28 "2012-09-07T13:26:04Z")
I don’t recall any legislators ever writing letters to tell Jeremy Shockey to shut the fuck up. Why should Ayanbadejo? ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/29 "2012-09-07T13:35:41Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Brendon Ayanbadejo has been a marriage equality advocate since 2009. Why is this an issue now? Election year. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/30 "2012-09-07T13:43:04Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I don’t recall any legislators ever writing letters to tell Jeremy Shockey to shut the fuck up. Why should Ayanbadejo? Well, he should if his boss tells him to, I think. Or he shouldn’t, and we’ll see if he’s valuable enough to force the issue. Either way, I wanted to focus on the boss’ reaction to this demand, because I think that’s the more influential one. Should Bisciotti seek to impose some sort of political hot-button moratorium on his players as a result of this request? I say no, but I can see the argument for ‘yes:’ just as the letter says, taking a stand on the issue may alienate a chunk of fans, which no owner wants. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/31 "2012-09-07T13:44:33Z")
Heh, silly me - I didn’t even spot this as an attempted “gotcha” on Bricker’s behalf. Sure, I assumed the pol was a Republican, but regardless of party, he’s a jerk. In fact, regardless of which side of the SSM issue he was on, he’s a jerk. In fact, this thread now reminds me of the [“Did the President mislead…”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=205995) thread that accelerated the banning of a poster named **december**. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/32 "2012-09-07T13:55:11Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Unless I’m mistaken, only Major League Baseball has an antitrust exemption. In fact, the NFL was found to have maintained an illegal monopoly in the [USFL lawsuit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USFL#USFL_v._NFL_lawsuit). > [@Bricker](#): > > Well, he should if his boss tells him to, I think. So, you’re comfortable with the idea that if everyone’s boss decides to quash controversial political speech, that only unemployed or self-employed people would get to speak publicly on controversial political issues? I’m not sure what exactly the guiding principle should be here. Do we want to give employers the freedom to prohibit employees from extolling the virtues of the KKK? If so, do they also have the freedom to prohibit employees from speaking out in support of desegregation? ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/33 "2012-09-07T13:59:42Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I say no, but I can see the argument for ‘yes:’ just as the letter says, taking a stand on the issue may alienate a chunk of fans, which no owner wants. This argument essentially allows all employers to restrict their employees’ speech. Employers shouldn’t have this power. Unfortunately they currently do. And on the contrary, a team censoring its players, and a so-called “hero” backing down in the face of censorship, will alienate this fan, along with a bunch of my fellow Americans. It’s short sighted and just isn’t good for anybody. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/34 "2012-09-07T14:04:20Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Well, he should if his boss tells him to, I think. > > Or he shouldn’t, and we’ll see if he’s valuable enough to force the issue. > > Either way, I wanted to focus on the boss’ reaction to this demand, because I think that’s the more influential one. Should Bisciotti seek to impose some sort of political hot-button moratorium on his players as a result of this request? > > I say no, but I can see the argument for ‘yes:’ just as the letter says, taking a stand on the issue may alienate a chunk of fans, which no owner wants. NFL players are employees and as such should be required to be constrained to whatever policies their employer has in place, and to which they have agreed as a condition of employment. If Bisciotti forgot to mention that complimentary tickets may not be used for X (“Complimentary tickets may not be donated to Causes”), then Bisciotti should ignore the letter from some big-shoes self-aggrandizing petty politician. It occurs to me that any constraint on how personal property may be used when one is not officially representing the Company is a fairly impractical and unenforceable policy. The fundamental question would be whether personal “moral” choices outside of the employee’s workplace environment can be constrained by the Company. I think that’s a tough sell. There’s no fundamental difference between a Ticket and Cash, and surely you wouldn’t argue that the Company should tell an employee how to spend their money. The player could, for instance, sell his complimentary tickets for $5 to an individual he knows will then donate them to the Cause. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/35 "2012-09-07T14:04:55Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Unless I’m mistaken, only Major League Baseball has an antitrust exemption. The draft, the salary cap, the media sharing – oh, the NFL has huge exemptions. MLB just has the oldest and most famous exemption. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/36 "2012-09-07T14:18:09Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > This argument essentially allows all employers to restrict their employees’ speech. Employers shouldn’t have this power. Unfortunately they currently do. And what of the executive who was fired for mouthing off to a Chik-Fil-A cashier? Was that an unfortunate example of an employer exercising this power? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/37 "2012-09-07T14:25:35Z")
Well, if anyone was “mouthing off” in the current example, it’d be Burns, so I invite his employer (the electorate of Maryland’s 10th District) to terminate _his_ employment. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/38 "2012-09-07T14:27:37Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > The draft, the salary cap, the media sharing – oh, the NFL has huge exemptions. MLB just has the oldest and most famous exemption. Well, but golf still has by far the best legislative exemption, for their retirement plan. The Tour player who wins the FedEx Cup’s 10M, for example, can defer the compensation until age 45. That means if Rory McIlroy wins, he’ll have 20+ years to compound earnings on 10M before he owes any (US) taxes…the [PGA’s](http://www.retirementplanblog.com/defined-benefit-pension-plans-one-retirement-program-that-isnt-getting-sacked.html)plan sneaked in under the legislative radar but it’s actually unbelievable compared to the choices we small-fry have for stashing away cash. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/39 "2012-09-07T14:28:15Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > And what of the executive who was fired for mouthing off to a Chik-Fil-A cashier? Was that an unfortunate example of an employer exercising this power? Treating people like shit and voicing an opinion are two different things. I support the right of employers to hire and fire people for almost any reason, but having the wrong politics isn’t one of them. And anyway, I’m not saying it should be against the law, just that it’s wrong. Although perhaps businesses that get special treatment from the government, such as professional sports leagues and other artificial monopolies like utilities, should have “don’t censor your employees” as a condition of the government’s support. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939/40 "2012-09-07T14:28:30Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I don’t see any good argument here for acceding to the legislator’s request. No, indeed. I don’t see why any employer should accede to any such request from any elected official, supposing that this request from the elected official was the sole factor in any such situation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-players-should-express-no-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/633939.md?page=3)