CoffeeTiger 5,114 Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/02/24/tennessee-gop-anthem-protest/ Quote . Monday, Republican state senators sent a letter to the presidents and chancellors of Tennessee’s public universities. “During athletic competitions, our student athletes represent not only themselves, but also our universities and all the citizens of this state, many of whom view this form of protest as offensive and disrespectful to the very thing our National Anthem represents,” it said. “When they don the jersey of a Tennessee university, they step out of their personal roles and into the role of an ambassador for our state“ To address this issue, we encourage each of you to adopt policies within your respective athletic departments to prohibit any such actions moving forward.” The suggestion that student athletes shed their First Amendment rights when they suit up for a public university is not a novel argument, although it is invalid, according to David L. Hudson Jr., an assistant law professor at Belmont University in Nashville. “This is embarrassing,” Hudson said in an email to The Washington Post. “The First Amendment protects the right to peaceful protest. The lawmakers’ action is an affront to this fundamental First Amendment freedom.” Some universities have attempted to impose limitations on the speech of their student athletes on the field, the court and social media, arguing that the school has control over that speech because the players are receiving scholarships. Clay Calvert, a Florida law professor and director of the nonprofit Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project, said student athletes at public universities are granted leniency that he is not as a paid university employee. “The argument they would make is your speech reflects our speech, but [student athletes] are not really employees, and that’s the situation. They’re being treated as if they’re employees delivering a lecture,” Calvert said in a phone interview. “The simple fact that a student athlete puts on a uniform and represents a public university … that doesn't sacrifice their first amendment rights to free speech. That argument just doesn't hold up.” Sen. Paul Bailey, one of the letter’s 27 signatories, did not respond to questions about the potential legal challenges a prohibition on kneeling could attract. He said in an emailed statement that players should stand for the anthem. I'm almost ready for the day when they just stop playing the national anthem before sporting events at all, not that I personally have a problem with it, but that would stop any protests from happening during it. It would stop players from kneeling during it, it would stop red blooded patriotic Americans from becoming so offended and enraged to see the kneeling, it would stop the endless GOP attention on the matter and would let everyone focus on more important things. If the GOP can't accept that some athletes wont stand for the anthem then just stop playing the anthem at all for sports. There. problem solved. And it's really the only way to stop it due to it being against the constitution to make kneeling an illegal offense, much to the annoyance of many GOP lawmakers I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
“During athletic competitions, our student athletes represent not only themselves, but also our universities and all the citizens of this state, many of whom view this form of protest as offensive and disrespectful to the very thing our National Anthem represents,” it said. “When they don the jersey of a Tennessee university, they step out of their personal roles and into the role of an ambassador for our state“ To address this issue, we encourage each of you to adopt policies within your respective athletic departments to prohibit any such actions moving forward.” The suggestion that student athletes shed their First Amendment rights when they suit up for a public university is not a novel argument, although it is invalid, according to David L. Hudson Jr., an assistant law professor at Belmont University in Nashville. “This is embarrassing,” Hudson said in an email to The Washington Post. “The First Amendment protects the right to peaceful protest. The lawmakers’ action is an affront to this fundamental First Amendment freedom.” Some universities have attempted to impose limitations on the speech of their student athletes on the field, the court and social media, arguing that the school has control over that speech because the players are receiving scholarships. Clay Calvert, a Florida law professor and director of the nonprofit Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project, said student athletes at public universities are granted leniency that he is not as a paid university employee. “The argument they would make is your speech reflects our speech, but [student athletes] are not really employees, and that’s the situation. They’re being treated as if they’re employees delivering a lecture,” Calvert said in a phone interview. “The simple fact that a student athlete puts on a uniform and represents a public university … that doesn't sacrifice their first amendment rights to free speech. That argument just doesn't hold up.” Sen. Paul Bailey, one of the letter’s 27 signatories, did not respond to questions about the potential legal challenges a prohibition on kneeling could attract. He said in an emailed statement that players should stand for the anthem.
NolaAuTiger 3,295 Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 https://www.thefire.org/fire-ncac-and-pen-america-letter-to-east-tennessee-state-university-february-24-2021/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdefromtx 3,159 Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 How about we not worry about others ....if you want to stand you stand , want to kneel you kneel. That’s the beauty of this country....or is supposed to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,426 Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 Yea, I see big ole loss at SCOTUS over this one. I mean, this is guaranteed to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,499 Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 This won't end well for the state of TN or the TNGOP if they don't back off. Black Coaches Union has things to say: Advocacy group Black Coaches United is urging athletes who are being recruited by college teams in Tennessee to consider whether they should study and play in the state following a recent push by legislators to prevent players from taking a knee during the pregame national anthem. BCU isn’t calling for an outright boycott of schools in Tennessee, which includes 11 Division I basketball programs, including SEC members Tennessee and Vanderbilt, plus traditional power Memphis. It is merely encouraging parents and recruits to take a long look into the environment within the state. “We want to impress upon student-athletes that they have a tremendous amount of power in their voice and in their decisions,” said BCU executive director Paul Hewitt, a former college basketball coach who is now head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers' G League affiliate. “If the state of Tennessee wants to take away the most basic of American rights, which is the right to peacefully protest, then while we don’t want to tell kids where to go to school, it has to factor into your decision,” Hewitt told Yahoo Sports on Thursday... https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/black-coaches-advocacy-group-urging-athletes-to-weigh-tennessee-gop-anthem-push-before-committing-to-schools-in-state/ar-BB1e1xmB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advocacy group Black Coaches United is urging athletes who are being recruited by college teams in Tennessee to consider whether they should study and play in the state following a recent push by legislators to prevent players from taking a knee during the pregame national anthem. BCU isn’t calling for an outright boycott of schools in Tennessee, which includes 11 Division I basketball programs, including SEC members Tennessee and Vanderbilt, plus traditional power Memphis. It is merely encouraging parents and recruits to take a long look into the environment within the state. “We want to impress upon student-athletes that they have a tremendous amount of power in their voice and in their decisions,” said BCU executive director Paul Hewitt, a former college basketball coach who is now head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers' G League affiliate. “If the state of Tennessee wants to take away the most basic of American rights, which is the right to peacefully protest, then while we don’t want to tell kids where to go to school, it has to factor into your decision,” Hewitt told Yahoo Sports on Thursday... https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/black-coaches-advocacy-group-urging-athletes-to-weigh-tennessee-gop-anthem-push-before-committing-to-schools-in-state/ar-BB1e1xmB
SLAG-91 1,483 Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 I've seen this at multiple college football games: Play the anthem about 15-20 minutes before kickoff, while players are in the locker room. When players come out on the field, fight song, coin flip, kick it off. It's one of those things that, if it went by the boards, I'm honestly not even sure I'd miss it, or, at a minimum, I'd get used to not hearing it pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigeremt 6,642 Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 On 2/25/2021 at 1:29 PM, wdefromtx said: How about we not worry about others ....if you want to stand you stand , want to kneel you kneel. That’s the beauty of this country....or is supposed to be. Not anymore! Some act as though it's just a left or right wing problem.......it just a damn problem in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURex 2,006 Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 Yep. If you are not flag-waving, fanatically politically crazoid right wingnoid enough to stand and salute and genuflect and right-slobber enough, you are obviously not patriotic enough to be a TRUE. AUBURN. MAN/WOMAN. If you support civil/human rights ----- well FU, even at Auburn. Been there, experienced that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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