Today’s blacklisted American: Football coach fired for criticizing Democrat
Canceled at the University of Tennessee
They’re coming for you next: An offensive line coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (UTC), Chris Malone, was fired just two days after he posted a tweet strongly criticizing failed Democrat candidate for governor Stacy Abrams and her part in what the coach perceived as election fraud in Georgia.
He is now suing the school and the individuals involved in his firing.
Malone’s tweet:
Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you have truly shown America the true works of cheating in an election, again!!! Enjoy the buffet Big Girl!! You earned it!!! Hope the money is good, still not governor!
The school’s immediate reaction:
“Last night, a totally inappropriate social media post by a member of our football staff was brought to my attention. The entire post was appalling. The sentiments in that post do not represent the values of our football program, our Athletics department or our University,” AD Mark Wharton said at the time. “With that said, effective immediately, that individual is no longer a part of the program.”
Though Malone’s language was crude (though completely typical of almost all of Twitter’s childish commentary), it hardly rose to the level of “appalling” as claimed by the school, unless of course the school and the administrators of its athletic department are partisan Democrats and are intolerant to any opinions that criticize the political party they support.
As Malone’s lawyer correctly noted,
“UTC is going to get acquainted with the First Amendment,” Doug Churdar, Malone’s attorney, said in a statement announcing the suit. “As a public school, it cannot control what its employees say at social gatherings or on social media. It certainly cannot fire them for criticizing and mocking politicians.”
I wish I was as certain at this lawyer. On its face Malone should easily win this case. What he says on his own time should not cost him his job, especially when he is merely criticizing the actions of a politician.
We however no longer live in a society that values free speech. I will not be surprised if the courts, in cooperation with juries, rule in favor of the university.
Had Malone made these statements from a school account, as an official member of the school, his firing could then be justified. Your private opinions are your own, and should not cost you your job. As your own opinions, however, you have no right to force your employer to participate in them, essentially endorsing them. If you do, you should be fired. Sports figures in the NFL and NBA should note this distinction.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Canceled at the University of Tennessee
They’re coming for you next: An offensive line coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (UTC), Chris Malone, was fired just two days after he posted a tweet strongly criticizing failed Democrat candidate for governor Stacy Abrams and her part in what the coach perceived as election fraud in Georgia.
He is now suing the school and the individuals involved in his firing.
Malone’s tweet:
Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you have truly shown America the true works of cheating in an election, again!!! Enjoy the buffet Big Girl!! You earned it!!! Hope the money is good, still not governor!
The school’s immediate reaction:
“Last night, a totally inappropriate social media post by a member of our football staff was brought to my attention. The entire post was appalling. The sentiments in that post do not represent the values of our football program, our Athletics department or our University,” AD Mark Wharton said at the time. “With that said, effective immediately, that individual is no longer a part of the program.”
Though Malone’s language was crude (though completely typical of almost all of Twitter’s childish commentary), it hardly rose to the level of “appalling” as claimed by the school, unless of course the school and the administrators of its athletic department are partisan Democrats and are intolerant to any opinions that criticize the political party they support.
As Malone’s lawyer correctly noted,
“UTC is going to get acquainted with the First Amendment,” Doug Churdar, Malone’s attorney, said in a statement announcing the suit. “As a public school, it cannot control what its employees say at social gatherings or on social media. It certainly cannot fire them for criticizing and mocking politicians.”
I wish I was as certain at this lawyer. On its face Malone should easily win this case. What he says on his own time should not cost him his job, especially when he is merely criticizing the actions of a politician.
We however no longer live in a society that values free speech. I will not be surprised if the courts, in cooperation with juries, rule in favor of the university.
Had Malone made these statements from a school account, as an official member of the school, his firing could then be justified. Your private opinions are your own, and should not cost you your job. As your own opinions, however, you have no right to force your employer to participate in them, essentially endorsing them. If you do, you should be fired. Sports figures in the NFL and NBA should note this distinction.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Where does all of this current institutional “Progressive” / “Woke” agenda come from? People like this. Bryan Stevenson – University of Michigan 2021 Commencement Address. Just listen to 5 minutes and you will understand the institutional commitment and the mission the graduates are being instructed to fulfill.
https://youtu.be/5_j2iqDJCtQ
These people are now at the levers of power and are subjectively setting the curriculum and agendas in these institutions. And they have trained their minions and they have their expectations for them as they go out into the world and occupy those positions in those many companies and government institutions who are recruiting them.
Just like the ridiculous CIA recruitment video of the other day with the newly “empowered” Latina CIA officer who tells everyone how brilliant she is, and of course reveals her sexuality and her apparent psychological abuse that she grew up immersed in because she grew up in America. (NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR SEXUALITY! EXCEPT YOU. JUST DO THE DAMN JOB!)
The Lefts investment in the education system indoctrination machine over the last 30 years is paying dividends. And they look petty, childish and they are teaching racism and retribution, that is their message.
How does one work inside the CIA where these lines of color and race have now been brightly drawn? And you thought that the rest of the world was laughing at us because Trump was the president?
These efforts may make some grown adults feel better at some politically correct level, but its very dangerous. And like it or not we have got to go through it and somehow make lemon aide down the road. If not then we are doomed in the long term.
Please, just teach mutual respect and NOT racism and retribution, because that is what is being transmitted.
Do we cycle out of this ridiculousness? Stay tuned.
And here we have the fruits of these education practices and Leftist indoctrinations and these teachings of racism and retribution:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/05/failed-st-louis-prosecutor-crackpot-kim-gardner-faces-misconduct-probe-illicit-conduct-greitens-case-may-lose-law-license/
Lies, lies and more lies.
The only solution? Law suits, and then more law suits, and then sue them again. Eventually they will learn.
Someone SOMEWHERE will need to take their firing to the Supreme Court and get a PRECEDENT established so others won’t have to be subjected to the nitwits who run universities and businesses! If you sign a CONTRACT that forbids you to make any PERSONAL comments on any subjects then you sold your soul to the devil that hired you. What SHOULD be ILLEGAL is having to sign such an agreement! Now if the agreement covers anything you do as a REPRESENTATIVE of an employer then you need to be careful while on OFFICIAL BUSINESS. Your PERSONAL LIFE should be just that – PERSONAL and protected by the 1st Amendment AND the Courts! I hope he sues and WINS! Speaking of SUING and WINNING – how’s the Oberlin College saga coming along???
These criminals have no concerns regarding fines or other judicial actions. They have friends in high places to get them out of trouble (one way or another).
Bring back exile. Send these knaves to the northern 100mi of Alaska and leave them with a knife and a GPS monitor. Sell tickets to have a drone do a flyover to cover costs.
Whenever some group of the “woke”, do something nasty they always claim that it is because the person does not reflect their values. But, they never tell us what values are out of alignment. For example, what values do not align with Mark Wheaton’s football values. Is Mark in favor of fraudulent voting or is his value to ignore it. If the Mark Wheaton’s of the world are going to use their their values as a yardstick, at least list those values in conflict. But that seems too hard for them.
it hardly rose to the level of “appalling” as claimed by the school
I might maybe disagree if the school didn’t allow any of its students to curse (ever) and such.
Your private opinions are your own
This is one of the problems with social media, however. Where in previous generations your private opinions really are mostly private, the age of social media is more like renting a billboard in those other times, and plastering your face and opinions all over it. The perceived need to shout our opinions and our lives all over the public space is not healthy for us.
Now, we can say “that doesn’t change people’s rights” and I agree. But it does make the line between “private” speech and related-to-our-employer speech much thinner. (We also have the issue with our lives being more holistic and less compartmentalized – again, partly because of technology, as we often do work on our own phones, as well as mobility allowing us to work outside of our office hours.) We have to shift our lives back to a more compartmentalized stance, so we can say “Why do you care what I post on my Twit timeline?”
“coaching while Republican” is now a crime
if a similar standard was applied to every social media criticism of Trump then 80% of the college would have to be fired
Nothing appalling or worse than anything abrams has said.
Robert noted: “Though Malone’s language was crude (though completely typical of almost all of Twitter’s childish commentary), it hardly rose to the level of “appalling” as claimed by the school, unless of course the school and the administrators of its athletic department are partisan Democrats and are intolerant to any opinions that criticize the political party they support.”
Considering that various governments (invariably Democrat run) around the country have taken sides in politics, a very unAmerican and even undemocratic thing to do, it is hardly surprising that government institutions become appalled by any opinion that fails to conform to the Democrat Party’s line of the day.
Democrats are the most tolerant people on the planet, intolerant only of intolerance. I know this, because many Democrats have told me so. It turns out that Democrats define intolerance as anything (person, opinion, scientific fact, etc.) that does not agree with them.
For several decades, proper Democratic punishments for not toeing the party line have included shunning, boycotting, ostracizing, and blacklisting. That it now happens on a widespread scale is hardly surprising, because they got away with it for so many decades on an individual and social-group level that it seems natural to them to do so on a corporate and governmental level.
Democrats believe strongly in free speech and have ever since the 1960s and the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. Their motto: free speech for me but shut up.
http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/what-ever-you-do-dont-shut-up
I guess he will have to start a new career now that he’s been blacklisted from other colleges or universities. He may have to work in a factory, warehouse, selling cars, or practice the new phrase, “Do you want fries with that?” at McDonald’s or other fast food restaurant.
Benjamin Schlechter: So you are okay with him being fired simply because he criticized a Democrat? I find that perspective quite interesting, one that even the blacklisters of the 1950s would have been appalled at. At least they were trying to blackball people whom they thought were traitors to the country. You want to blackball anyone who disagrees with a Democrat.
How about, anyone with the name “Schlechter” looses their job and seeks their new employment at McDonalds because that name is not generally liked?
(What kind of name is that anyway?)
Same thing.