Upon finding th “Bull Durham” 15th Anniversary Celebration had been cancelled by the Baseball Hall of Fame, Tim Robbins ended his invective laced response with:
“Long live democracy, free speech and the '69 Mets – all improbable, glorious miracles that I have always believed in”.
Major League Baseball has simply decided that you and your pseudo-wife do not represent the majority of their fan base and that you are in fact, offensive to most. Not ALL, but most. MLB has the right to sever ties with you if you conduct yourself in a way that reflects values contrary to their own. MLB has enough troubles with its fans now, and does not need to appear to be in step with such unpopular points of view.
You have the right to say whatever you like. Really, you do. But when you say things that are contrary and inflamattory to most of the community, no matter how noble your goal. Do not be suprised when people distance themselves from you, or worse, cast dispersions against you.
You trade on your image and your reputation. YOU are the one who has damaged these things by your deeds and words.
Should celebrities expect to be able to say whatever they like and then complain when it comes back to haunt them?
Thank God for people like Tim Robbins who, by exercising their right to free speech, by questioning the government, and by holding it accountable for its actions, continue to uphold the principles of DEMOCRACY which make America the truly great nation that it is.
Oh, that’s terrible! Being dissed by official members of organized baseball! What next, will the Mafia be getting on their cases? Will Saddam Hussein be popping out of hiding to express his contempt?
I’ll bet there are a lot of pro-war folks who wish heartily that organized baseball wasn’t on their side … some are probably re-thinking their positions on the war right now …
There’s a quote from Ball Four that nails this puppy. Too bad I’m at work, and my copy of the book is at home.
The gist of it is this: Bouton and a friend are talking about conversations on the team bus. His friend says something along the lines of “Saying ‘look at those filthy war protesters - they should get a bath, a haircut, and a job’ isn’t talking politics. But saying ‘I think those war protesters are saying things we need to hear’ - now, that’s talking politics.”
Baseball isn’t politics, and the two individuals in question didn’t exactly do a Jane Fonda.
No big violation of their rights going on here (BHOF, being private, certainly has the right to cancel a scheduled presentation, and they don’t appear sufficiently damaged to win a civil suit for that matter), but how fucking petty and pathetic.
Shouldn’t individuals be held accountable for their actions as well?
This is not an issue of “people like Tim Robbins” having their right to free speech denied; this is an issue of “people like Tim Robbins” having to get off of their high horses and deal with the consequences of their actions, good or bad.
Oh yes, I do know how celebrities like to make brash statements and then quickly retract them later… like all those people who vowed to move overseas if George W. Bush were elected… as far as I know not a single one did.
Of course they should. And their detractors should be able to criticize their views, then accuse them of hypocrisy when they object. That is the essence of free speech. Everybody gets to express themselves, whether you think they are justified or not.
Ah, yes, OF COURSE! Only rich celebrities deserve free speech. Nobody has the right to DISAGREE WITH SUSAN SARANDON! IMPRISON EVERONE WHO DISAGREES WITH SUSAN SARANDON! ONLY SUSAN SARANDON MAY HAVE FREE SPEECH!!!
No. Rich liberal celebrities have the right to ride roughshod over everybody else. Didn’t you know that? This is the USA! It is a FELONY to disagree with Susan Sarandon!
Reverse the situation. If the actors supported the war and the film celebration was cancelled as a result of merely those expessed opinions, or if the actors would have boycotted the Hall because it made a pro-war statement, the incident would be just as stupid.
What does a movie about baseball made 15 years ago have to do with anybody’s specific politics now? The issue isn’t about dealing with consequences of actions. The issue is consequences that have no rational basis.
Actors have every right to spout off nonsense about the war. The Baseball Hall of Fame has every right to irrationally call off screenings of their movies as a result. The OP is right in that either side should recognize their positions might draw some heat from the opposite camp–they would be naive to think otherwise. But expectation of some reaction does not in any way mitigate the idiocy of any particular reaction.
I doubt Tim and Susan would back down the way that silly little Dixie Chick did. What a wuss. They don’t care if their “public” has a hard-on with their views. The Dixie Chicks are only concerned with their popularity.
A 15 year old movie about baseball has nothing to do with anyone’s “specific politics now”. However, rational or not, the cancellation of the festival is a direct consequence to Tim and Susan’s protests. If they had made the decision to be a bit more reserved about their feelings, the show most likely would have gone on.
(Personally, I feel that standing up for your principles is much more important than a silly baseball-movie festival, and I would be willing to accept the consequences, not whine about it).
If the HoF doesn’t mind being run by a petty functionary who confuses his personal politics with morality, and believes it’s his business and the business of the HoF to enforce that morality, then that’s their problem. I wasn’t in a hurry to visit Cooperstown, and I guess I’m still in no hurry to do so.
As there is more than a trivial institutional connection between the HoF and MLB, some of this naturally rubs off on MLB, which is in turn free to criticize the HoF and the former Reaganista running it, or not, as they see fit.
It’s a direct consequence of HoF President (and former Reagan assistant press secretary) Dale Petroskey’s actions.
It’s a very indirect consequence of Robbins’ and Sarandon’s actions, in that there was certainly no way to predict that that particular exercise of their First Amendment rights would lead to the cancellation of this HoF event. Unless one had a prior familiarity with Petroskey’s politics, maybe.
See above.
We agree on this, anyway.
Whining seems to be in the eye of the beholder. Given that this action was aimed at Robbins and Sarandon, it’s perfectly reasonable that they comment on the absurdity of it. Robbins has done so.
Just remember, you can’t critize the President, unless you’re Rush Limbaugh. And celebrities aren’t allowed to talk about politics, unless it’s Charlton Heston.
