The NBA will require all players and coaches to stand for the National Anthem

[Kingpoleon]

If I wished to do anything, then, I would come out onto the court only after the anthem was over.

[Cactus Jack]

American nationalism is a disease, and I say that as someone who considers himself fairly patriotic.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Good for Adam Silver.

These athletes need to think about the attitudes towards America of the millions of folks that provide the streams of income to the teams that pay their fantastic salaries.

I will not ever attend a professional sporting event again, excluding NASCAR, minor league sports, and CFL football.  If you can't stand for the Anthem, I don't wish to fund you if I can possibly avoid doing so.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I dont get why many on here dont understand that while people do have the right to protest , their employers also has the right to punish those employees if they do it on office grounds.



Also if you think free speech applies here then it certainly should apply to conservative speakers on PUBLIC college campus.


By your logic it should also apply to the engineer from google who was fired for offensive speech, should be hired back .

[Fuzzy Bear]

I dont get why many on here dont understand that while people do have the right to protest , their employers also has the right to punish those employees if they do it on office grounds.



Also if you think free speech applies here then it certainly should apply to conservative speakers on PUBLIC college campus.


By your logic it should also apply to the engineer from google who was fired for offensive speech, should be hired back .

This.

All of this.

[SteveRogers]

I dont get why many on here dont understand that while people do have the right to protest , their employers also has the right to punish those employees if they do it on office grounds.



Also if you think free speech applies here then it certainly should apply to conservative speakers on PUBLIC college campus.


By your logic it should also apply to the engineer from google who was fired for offensive speech, should be hired back .

"Freedom of speech" is more than just what is legally protected by the First Amendment. It is also a principle that we should all aspire to in our discourse.

You are of course right that the NBA has its own right to freedom of speech and of association. Obviously no one is contesting that the NBA has the legal right to suspend players who refuse to stand for the pledge of allegiance. But is that in keeping with the principle of free speech?

We can all debate whether or not it was morally right for Google to fire the employee who used the corporate message board to voice their views about corporate policies. But if you were outraged by that example, then you are a hypocrite if you're now applauding the NBA's rule in this instance. Here, the NBA is not just threatening to suspend players who voice their own views during game time. Rather, the NBA is threatening to suspend players who do not actively conform to a specifically-defined version of patriotism (standing during the pledge) during game time.

 If you want to make the comparison to the Google firing, this would be akin to Google firing every employee who didn't affirmatively pledge allegiance to Google's affirmative action hiring policies.

[OSR stands with Israel]

No I wasn't outraged at what google did (since the employee did what he did at work time ) and the pre game routine is considered part of work time for the NBA players .

[Fuzzy Bear]

I dont get why many on here dont understand that while people do have the right to protest , their employers also has the right to punish those employees if they do it on office grounds.



Also if you think free speech applies here then it certainly should apply to conservative speakers on PUBLIC college campus.


By your logic it should also apply to the engineer from google who was fired for offensive speech, should be hired back .

"Freedom of speech" is more than just what is legally protected by the First Amendment. It is also a principle that we should all aspire to in our discourse.

You are of course right that the NBA has its own right to freedom of speech and of association. Obviously no one is contesting that the NBA has the legal right to suspend players who refuse to stand for the pledge of allegiance. But is that in keeping with the principle of free speech?

We can all debate whether or not it was morally right for Google to fire the employee who used the corporate message board to voice their views about corporate policies. But if you were outraged by that example, then you are a hypocrite if you're now applauding the NBA's rule in this instance. Here, the NBA is not just threatening to suspend players who voice their own views during game time. Rather, the NBA is threatening to suspend players who do not actively conform to a specifically-defined version of patriotism (standing during the pledge) during game time.

 If you want to make the comparison to the Google firing, this would be akin to Google firing every employee who didn't affirmatively pledge allegiance to Google's affirmative action hiring policies.

"Free Speech" means, simply, that the Government will not throw me in jail for dissent.  It doesn't guarantee that the public will accept what I have to say, or the time at which I say it, in an uncritical manner.

"Free Speech" is a right that involves me.  Just me.  "Employment" isn't a right, however; it's a privilege that requires my employer to willingly hire me, and my employer does get to govern my conduct while on the job, subject to law. 

The NBA is putting on a show.  Athletes are performers, and everything about what the athletes do while at the stadium/arena is part of their job.  If the employer chooses to play the anthem and the employer wishes their employees to stand for the Anthem, that's not unreasonable; it's part of the show.  The Courts have allowed for RELIGIOUS exceptions to this, but these exceptions involved schoolchildren, who were legally compelled to attend public school.  No one is compelled to play NBA basketball, and a POLITICAL objection is different from a RELIGIOUS objection.  Does a church organist at the Assemblies of God get to play something from Black Sabbath at a Sunday service and not get fired?  Free Speech is a right, but employment is a privilege.

[SteveRogers]

I dont get why many on here dont understand that while people do have the right to protest , their employers also has the right to punish those employees if they do it on office grounds.



Also if you think free speech applies here then it certainly should apply to conservative speakers on PUBLIC college campus.


By your logic it should also apply to the engineer from google who was fired for offensive speech, should be hired back .

"Freedom of speech" is more than just what is legally protected by the First Amendment. It is also a principle that we should all aspire to in our discourse.

You are of course right that the NBA has its own right to freedom of speech and of association. Obviously no one is contesting that the NBA has the legal right to suspend players who refuse to stand for the pledge of allegiance. But is that in keeping with the principle of free speech?

We can all debate whether or not it was morally right for Google to fire the employee who used the corporate message board to voice their views about corporate policies. But if you were outraged by that example, then you are a hypocrite if you're now applauding the NBA's rule in this instance. Here, the NBA is not just threatening to suspend players who voice their own views during game time. Rather, the NBA is threatening to suspend players who do not actively conform to a specifically-defined version of patriotism (standing during the pledge) during game time.

 If you want to make the comparison to the Google firing, this would be akin to Google firing every employee who didn't affirmatively pledge allegiance to Google's affirmative action hiring policies.

"Free Speech" means, simply, that the Government will not throw me in jail for dissent.  It doesn't guarantee that the public will accept what I have to say, or the time at which I say it, in an uncritical manner.

"Free Speech" is a right that involves me.  Just me.  "Employment" isn't a right, however; it's a privilege that requires my employer to willingly hire me, and my employer does get to govern my conduct while on the job, subject to law. 

The NBA is putting on a show.  Athletes are performers, and everything about what the athletes do while at the stadium/arena is part of their job.  If the employer chooses to play the anthem and the employer wishes their employees to stand for the Anthem, that's not unreasonable; it's part of the show.  The Courts have allowed for RELIGIOUS exceptions to this, but these exceptions involved schoolchildren, who were legally compelled to attend public school.  No one is compelled to play NBA basketball, and a POLITICAL objection is different from a RELIGIOUS objection.  Does a church organist at the Assemblies of God get to play something from Black Sabbath at a Sunday service and not get fired?  Free Speech is a right, but employment is a privilege.

Again, no one is disagreeing with you that the NBA absolutely has the legal right to discipline players who refuse to stand for the pledge. Rather, the argument is that to do so is a morally bankrupt act that makes a mockery of the principle of freedom of expression and of the very concept of patriotism that such a policy claims to further.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I dont get why many on here dont understand that while people do have the right to protest , their employers also has the right to punish those employees if they do it on office grounds.



Also if you think free speech applies here then it certainly should apply to conservative speakers on PUBLIC college campus.


By your logic it should also apply to the engineer from google who was fired for offensive speech, should be hired back .

"Freedom of speech" is more than just what is legally protected by the First Amendment. It is also a principle that we should all aspire to in our discourse.

You are of course right that the NBA has its own right to freedom of speech and of association. Obviously no one is contesting that the NBA has the legal right to suspend players who refuse to stand for the pledge of allegiance. But is that in keeping with the principle of free speech?

We can all debate whether or not it was morally right for Google to fire the employee who used the corporate message board to voice their views about corporate policies. But if you were outraged by that example, then you are a hypocrite if you're now applauding the NBA's rule in this instance. Here, the NBA is not just threatening to suspend players who voice their own views during game time. Rather, the NBA is threatening to suspend players who do not actively conform to a specifically-defined version of patriotism (standing during the pledge) during game time.

 If you want to make the comparison to the Google firing, this would be akin to Google firing every employee who didn't affirmatively pledge allegiance to Google's affirmative action hiring policies.

"Free Speech" means, simply, that the Government will not throw me in jail for dissent.  It doesn't guarantee that the public will accept what I have to say, or the time at which I say it, in an uncritical manner.

"Free Speech" is a right that involves me.  Just me.  "Employment" isn't a right, however; it's a privilege that requires my employer to willingly hire me, and my employer does get to govern my conduct while on the job, subject to law. 

The NBA is putting on a show.  Athletes are performers, and everything about what the athletes do while at the stadium/arena is part of their job.  If the employer chooses to play the anthem and the employer wishes their employees to stand for the Anthem, that's not unreasonable; it's part of the show.  The Courts have allowed for RELIGIOUS exceptions to this, but these exceptions involved schoolchildren, who were legally compelled to attend public school.  No one is compelled to play NBA basketball, and a POLITICAL objection is different from a RELIGIOUS objection.  Does a church organist at the Assemblies of God get to play something from Black Sabbath at a Sunday service and not get fired?  Free Speech is a right, but employment is a privilege.

Again, no one is disagreeing with you that the NBA absolutely has the legal right to discipline players who refuse to stand for the pledge. Rather, the argument is that to do so is a morally bankrupt act that makes a mockery of the principle of freedom of expression and of the very concept of patriotism that such a policy claims to further.

The NBA I believe does allow players to be in the locker room for the anthem, if you dont wanna stand. They just dont want you to do it publicly(for example Dion Waiters didnt stand for the anthem 3 years ago , and due to that he was in the locker room during it).

[SteveRogers]

Answer me this: If the NBA requires all players to stand for the pledge, and everyone in the audience and everyone watching the games on tv now knows that the NBA requires all players to stand for the pledge, does that not diminish act of standing for the pledge? Does the knowledge that it is a compulsory act not remove all of the purpose behind the symbolism of watching the players come out and stand for the pledge?

[OSR stands with Israel]

Staying in the locker room during the anthem if you don't want to stand is a good compromise .

[The Mikado]

I dont get why many on here dont understand that while people do have the right to protest , their employers also has the right to punish those employees if they do it on office grounds.

Absolutely they do.

And employees have the right to consider and calculate their value and realize that they are worth far more to their employer than their employer is to them and that their employer is financially incapable of punishing them. This is especially true of professional athletes with skills that are incredibly rare and finely-honed. It's borderline impossible to imagine certain NBA stars getting fired no matter how many times they kneel, rules or no rules.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

I will not ever attend a professional sporting event again, excluding NASCAR, minor league sports, and CFL football.

1. lol
2. Nobody cares.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I dont get why many on here dont understand that while people do have the right to protest , their employers also has the right to punish those employees if they do it on office grounds.

Absolutely they do.

And employees have the right to consider and calculate their value and realize that they are worth far more to their employer than their employer is to them and that their employer is financially incapable of punishing them. This is especially true of professional athletes with skills that are incredibly rare and finely-honed. It's borderline impossible to imagine certain NBA stars getting fired no matter how many times they kneel, rules or no rules.

Yes but most people argument against this is such a rule violates a player constitutional rights, and that is just not true. If the player protested outside work hours and they get punished for it, then that is a violation of their 1st amendment rights .

Will this rule be enforceable , that depends entirely on which player broke the rule. If a role player breaks this rule then yes they probably will get disciplined for it, if its a star then no way will the NBA do anything about it. I mean if the NBA wont enforce its no flop rule against egregious violators of it such as James Harden  (due to him being a star) they wont enforce this rule on star players.


I hate the fact that the NBA always lets star players get away with a lot more than role players but thats how it is.

[Santander]

I will not ever attend a professional sporting event again, excluding NASCAR, minor league sports, and CFL football.

1. lol
2. Nobody cares.

This type of attitude led to Trump's election. Continue to laugh at your peril.

[publicunofficial]

I will not ever attend a professional sporting event again, excluding NASCAR, minor league sports, and CFL football.

1. lol
2. Nobody cares.

This.

Enjoy your miserable life at home Fuzzy.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I will not ever attend a professional sporting event again, excluding NASCAR, minor league sports, and CFL football.

1. lol
2. Nobody cares.

This type of attitude led to Trump's election. Continue to laugh at your peril.

I wonder if Hillary finally acknowledges it in her book?

[Fuzzy Bear]

I will not ever attend a professional sporting event again, excluding NASCAR, minor league sports, and CFL football.

1. lol
2. Nobody cares.

This.

Enjoy your miserable life at home Fuzzy.

My life is far from miserable, and doesn't lack for meaning. 

I'm not a NASCAR fan, btw, but at least its stars don't display contempt for America.

Sports owners will care when sports fans vote with their wallets and credit cards and cause the owners' revenue streams to diminish.  Or when taxpayers "Just say 'NO!'" to the next taxpeyer-funded stadium or arena because they don't want to subsidize America's loathers.