Freedom of Speech for Highly Paid Athletes

FREEDOM OF SPEECH FOR HIGHLY PAID ATHLETES

Tues. July 3rd, 2018

Highly paid athletes need to have freedom of speech, like college professors.  Highly paid athletes sometimes tweet things they later wish they hadn’t tweeted.  Stupid things.  But many highly paid athletes also have access to a world of experience which most intellectuals and most rich people do not have access to, namely, the experience of growing up poor.  Highly paid athletes need to be permitted to serve as spokespeople for poor people.

Jesus served as a spokesperson for poor people, and He did a really good job.  Our country needs to give highly paid athletes the same opportunity.  (Towards the end of his ministry, Jesus also served as a spokesperson for rich people.  That is because Jesus, like Joni Mitchell, could look at clouds from both sides now.)

Not all highly paid athletes are good role models.  But then again, not all intellectuals are good role models.  Not all rich people are good role models.  Do you know what I mean?

Some highly paid athletes have criticized the National Anthem, which has words by Francis Scott Key.  I say, allow them to make this criticism.  Tex Sample has written a really good essay on patriotism.  You can read it here: https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/8958/teaching-biblical-patriotism-as-pastoral-care-god-country-and-stories-of-working-class-pain .  I recommend it to you, but I warn you: it is not going to answer all the questions you have about patriotism.  Conservatives think that patriotism is an open-and-shut case.  The truth is, patriotism is more complicated than that.  I know you don’t want to hear this, but we are going to have to have a dialogue about patriotism.  That is a subject for a later blog.

Frank Newton