POLL: What should the punishment be for protesting football players?

[dblack]

Q:What should the punishment be for protesting football players?
Answer: Do a few patrol rounds with an officer in the worst neighborhoods of the city. A few traffic stops where every approached vehicle is a scary risk unknown.
Then maybe a short tour of Afghanistan or battles for regaining territory in Iraq.
You want a voice, use twitter or these forums, people do not want these things creeping into their sacred escape time that sports provide.

Hmmm.... Sounds like police officers and military personnel have more important things to worry about.

 

[KissMy]

Punishment for exercising one's 1st Amendment rights? This IS America, is it not?

First Amendment rights of free speech don't apply at a work place and on private property. Employees represent their company and if they say or do things that reflect badly on their employer, that company has the right to fire them.

The bill of rights is a restriction on the powers of the federal government, not on private citizens.

Last I checked Trump was federal government. He can't force people to say the anthem.

 

[DigitalDrifter]

Take the power away from the players.

Keep them in the locker room while the fans are standing during the Anthem. As soon as the Anthem ends and the fans are applauding, have the players run out on the field.

Voila, ratings begin to return.

 

[Mac1958]

The league and teams are clearly betting that this will ultimately blow over, and they're probably right.

People still wouldn't be screaming about this otherwise. They want to watch the games, and they will.
.

 

[tigerred59]

teacher I know, I know.....what should be their punishment......ALL WHITE WOMEN GOING BACK TO THEIR WHITE MEN!!

 

[eddiew37]

Just saw on the tube, a NFL player is arrested every seven days.

Perhaps they should be concentrating on different matters and cease being thugs

And perhaps trump should concentrate more on the presidency and stop being an AH??

Sassy perhaps if football players held AR 15's over their heads as the anthem played we'd have gun control by halftime?

 

[yiostheoy]

Okay, yes, another thread on this, sue me.

Let's get specific on what should not be done to players who kneel or sit or dance or sleep or do yoga during the national anthem. Please pick and explain.

My answer was "No punishment". If the team is okay with it, so am I.
.

NFL games are not fokking protest rallies.

Fire them for their unsportsmanlike conduct.

Kapernick has already been fired on a de facto basis.

Good riddance.

 

[Pogo]

Okay, yes, another thread on this, sue me.

Let's get specific on what should not be done to players who kneel or sit or dance or sleep or do yoga during the national anthem. Please pick and explain.

My answer was "No punishment". If the team is okay with it, so am I.
.

NFL games are not fokking protest rallies.

They're not political rallies either. Therefore jingo exercises have no place in it.

Fire them for their unsportsmanlike conduct.

A national anthem is not a "sport". Or any part of it.
Indeed it's entirely irrelevant to it.

 

[xotoxi]

Punishment for exercising one's 1st Amendment rights? This IS America, is it not?

They don't have a 1st Amendment Right, they are at work. The 1st Amendment protection only applies to the government infringing on freedom of speech, private businesses can set their rules for their companies.

They still have the 1st Amendment Right when at work.

By saying "they don't have a 1st Amendment Right" because they are at work would mean that the government would be able to infringe on their freedom of speech at work.

However, in this case, the government (i.e Trump) is getting rather close to indirectly infringing on their 1st Amendment Right by making strongly worded "recommendations" to their employer, and instigating a boycott of their employer.

Trump should shut his ******* mouth about everything.

No, they don't. The 1st Amendment does not cover you while you are at work. You can be fired for exactly what these people are doing.

INCORRECT.

"The 1st Amendment protection only applies to the government infringing on freedom of speech"
(directly quoted from your post)

If you say something at work, the GOVERNMENT cannot stop you. The GOVERNMENT cannot stop you.

Your employer can. But you do not have 1st Amendment protection from your employer. Only the GOVERNMENT.

If in your workplace at "Equity Financial Brokers", you spoke out about abortion and made a poster showing mutilated fetuses, your employer could fire you, but the GOVERNMENT could not arrest you. Therefore, your 1st Amendment Rights would not be violated.

What if you were protesting on your "own time"? Should your employer be able to fire you for that?

As long as your employer is not the government.

 

[otto105]

Loss of all income from playing football.

My boycott has begun, I urge all patriotic Americans to join me.

If you going to leave, do it quietly.

Nobody likes someone who announces their leaving over and over...we just want you to go.

 

[Blackrook]

Loss of all income from playing football.

My boycott has begun, I urge all patriotic Americans to join me.

If you going to leave, do it quietly.

Nobody likes someone who announces their leaving over and over...we just want you to go.

LOL, you don't get to tell me what to do. Go **** yourself.

 

[Circe]

Fire them, of course. Right away, game day. First announce it, then do it. Before they play the game they were waiting for. Boy, I bet that would fix the problem doot squat, as people used to say. Next game, there would be no more "protestors."

 

[eddiew37]

Fire them, of course. Right away, game day. First announce it, then do it. Before they play the game they were waiting for. Boy, I bet that would fix the problem doot squat, as people used to say. Next game, there would be no more "protestors."

Lets have ALL FB players stand for the anthem ,,,,holding AR 15's over their head Gun control would take place by halftime

 

[eddiew37]

Loss of all income from playing football.

My boycott has begun, I urge all patriotic Americans to join me.

If you going to leave, do it quietly.

Nobody likes someone who announces their leaving over and over...we just want you to go.

LOL, you don't get to tell me what to do. Go **** yourself.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Wow....................all these conservatives have been screaming for the past 8 years while Obama was in office that the Constitution was being ignored, and they were the ones to defend the Constitution from the "dirty liberals" and their twisted interpretations of it.

Now? Those same conservatives are ignoring the Constitution and telling everyone what they should and should not do concerning their right to free speech.

Got news for you guys, the Constitution guarantees the right to free speech, even if you don't agree with it.

And not supporting a person's right to free speech is more disrespectful to the military than someone taking a knee. Why? Because the person taking a knee is actually using their rights provided in the Constitution, the others who are saying they should be fired are actually trying to stop others from exercising their constitutional rights.

The military swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Not the anthem, and not the flag.

 

[Montrovant]

Wow....................all these conservatives have been screaming for the past 8 years while Obama was in office that the Constitution was being ignored, and they were the ones to defend the Constitution from the "dirty liberals" and their twisted interpretations of it.

Now? Those same conservatives are ignoring the Constitution and telling everyone what they should and should not do concerning their right to free speech.

Got news for you guys, the Constitution guarantees the right to free speech, even if you don't agree with it.

And not supporting a person's right to free speech is more disrespectful to the military than someone taking a knee. Why? Because the person taking a knee is actually using their rights provided in the Constitution, the others who are saying they should be fired are actually trying to stop others from exercising their constitutional rights.

The military swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Not the anthem, and not the flag.

This poll is pretty clearly based on employer actions, not government, and not based on violating anyone's first amendment rights. The NFL players have the same free speech rights as any other citizen.....but that doesn't mean they have the right to protest on the sidelines at a game without any reaction from the owners or league.

This issue is not, for the most part, about free speech. It is about some people being upset about the way the players are expressing themselves. I don't agree with that anger and upset; I don't much care if people sit or kneel during the anthem. However, I can recognize that whether a player is fined or fired by the NFL for kneeling during the anthem is not a question of free speech rights, it is about the employer/employee relationship and codes of conduct. Players get fined for putting non-sanctioned decals on their helmets, for not pulling up their socks during games, for poor celebrations, etc. Of course kneeling on the sidelines during the national anthem can fall under the same sort of blanket conduct issues.

Anyone who thinks the government should force standing during the anthem, or that players should be arrested, or anything like that, those people are not respecting the players' first amendment rights. Respecting someone's right to speak does not mean one must respect what they say or how they say it.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Wow....................all these conservatives have been screaming for the past 8 years while Obama was in office that the Constitution was being ignored, and they were the ones to defend the Constitution from the "dirty liberals" and their twisted interpretations of it.

Now? Those same conservatives are ignoring the Constitution and telling everyone what they should and should not do concerning their right to free speech.

Got news for you guys, the Constitution guarantees the right to free speech, even if you don't agree with it.

And not supporting a person's right to free speech is more disrespectful to the military than someone taking a knee. Why? Because the person taking a knee is actually using their rights provided in the Constitution, the others who are saying they should be fired are actually trying to stop others from exercising their constitutional rights.

The military swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Not the anthem, and not the flag.

This poll is pretty clearly based on employer actions, not government, and not based on violating anyone's first amendment rights. The NFL players have the same free speech rights as any other citizen.....but that doesn't mean they have the right to protest on the sidelines at a game without any reaction from the owners or league.

This issue is not, for the most part, about free speech. It is about some people being upset about the way the players are expressing themselves. I don't agree with that anger and upset; I don't much care if people sit or kneel during the anthem. However, I can recognize that whether a player is fined or fired by the NFL for kneeling during the anthem is not a question of free speech rights, it is about the employer/employee relationship and codes of conduct. Players get fined for putting non-sanctioned decals on their helmets, for not pulling up their socks during games, for poor celebrations, etc. Of course kneeling on the sidelines during the national anthem can fall under the same sort of blanket conduct issues.

Anyone who thinks the government should force standing during the anthem, or that players should be arrested, or anything like that, those people are not respecting the players' first amendment rights. Respecting someone's right to speak does not mean one must respect what they say or how they say it.

But, there is nothing in their contracts that specifically state they have to stand during the anthem. Matter of fact, having the players stand for the anthem is a recent development, paid for by the military to try to increase recruiting goals.

 

[Montrovant]

Wow....................all these conservatives have been screaming for the past 8 years while Obama was in office that the Constitution was being ignored, and they were the ones to defend the Constitution from the "dirty liberals" and their twisted interpretations of it.

Now? Those same conservatives are ignoring the Constitution and telling everyone what they should and should not do concerning their right to free speech.

Got news for you guys, the Constitution guarantees the right to free speech, even if you don't agree with it.

And not supporting a person's right to free speech is more disrespectful to the military than someone taking a knee. Why? Because the person taking a knee is actually using their rights provided in the Constitution, the others who are saying they should be fired are actually trying to stop others from exercising their constitutional rights.

The military swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Not the anthem, and not the flag.

This poll is pretty clearly based on employer actions, not government, and not based on violating anyone's first amendment rights. The NFL players have the same free speech rights as any other citizen.....but that doesn't mean they have the right to protest on the sidelines at a game without any reaction from the owners or league.

This issue is not, for the most part, about free speech. It is about some people being upset about the way the players are expressing themselves. I don't agree with that anger and upset; I don't much care if people sit or kneel during the anthem. However, I can recognize that whether a player is fined or fired by the NFL for kneeling during the anthem is not a question of free speech rights, it is about the employer/employee relationship and codes of conduct. Players get fined for putting non-sanctioned decals on their helmets, for not pulling up their socks during games, for poor celebrations, etc. Of course kneeling on the sidelines during the national anthem can fall under the same sort of blanket conduct issues.

Anyone who thinks the government should force standing during the anthem, or that players should be arrested, or anything like that, those people are not respecting the players' first amendment rights. Respecting someone's right to speak does not mean one must respect what they say or how they say it.

But, there is nothing in their contracts that specifically state they have to stand during the anthem. Matter of fact, having the players stand for the anthem is a recent development, paid for by the military to try to increase recruiting goals.

Requiring teams to be on the field during the anthem is a recent development. Teams have gone out on the field for many years, it just hasn't been required until fairly recently. I would guess that the players have pretty much always stood when on the field for the anthem.

The NFL has punished players many times for violating their conduct policy. This could easily fall under that heading. The NFL Game Operations Manual supposedly provides for the possibility of fines for not standing (or doing other things) during the anthem, but it is written as a "should" rather than "must" thing.

Are you an NFL fan? I don't think Roger Goodell would have trouble finding a reason to punish the protesting players if he wanted to.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

We are done with the 2017 NFL season.
Maybe by next year the racist NFL players will have learned their lesson

 

[Montrovant]

Looks like the NFL is considering making standing during the anthem mandatory rather than discretionary.

NFL owners to discuss rule requiring players to stand during national anthem