The First Amendment And The SEC
October 27th, 2009 ║ Posted By: John Pennington ║ Permalink ║ Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
I’ve noticed a trend here at MrSEC.com.
Whenever a coach is reprimanded by the SEC for publicly ripping the league’s officials, a couple of folks will email me to cry, “free speech!”
Check the messageboards for Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi State fans and you’re sure to find someone barking about the First Amendment to the Constitution.
“How dare Mike Slive punish my coach,” the argument goes, “for saying what he thinks!”
“I guess we’ve just turned this country into Russia!”
Uh, yeah.
Here’s a little test for those few of you who’ve wondered why the First Amendment doesn’t protect coaches from speaking their dadgummed minds when it comes to no-good SEC refs:
Go into work tomorrow and tell your boss that he can kiss your rump.
Just walk up to him and tell him to stick it. For that matter, tell him his wife’s a drunk and his kids are ugly. Then yell “free speech” in his face.
Then you can email me and let me know how far the First Amendment protected you from getting the heave-ho from Company X.
You see, the First Amendment protects you — and SEC football coaches — from being persecuted by the United States government for whining about football officials, among many more important things.
It doesn’t give you — or them — the right to say anything you like to anybody you want at anytime you choose.
Therefore, I ask please — please — stop bringing up the First Amendment when your coach receives a league reprimand for saying something that violates the SEC’s rules and bylaws.
The First Amendment’s got nothing to do it.
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