Experts agree that an employee expressing repugnant, including racist, comments on the social media may be fired for expressing views that conflict with the values of their company. Roseanne Barr has little recourse after ABC fired her for a racist Twitter post. And unless the National Football League’s player union negotiates more leeway for players, they have to comply with the new NFL policy that requires them to stand during the playing of the national anthem. (Market Watch, May 30, 2018, by Maria LaMagna)
While granting that neither the players or Barr can bank on the First Amendment, Geoffrey R. Stone, Rolling Stone, May 30, 2018, writes that if it were the government trying to punish Barr or the players, they would run into free speech protections. Employees such as police or teachers may have the right to make statements on issues of vital interest to the public, but in general are limited by the interests of their employer in ensuring they are able to perform their duties and serve the employer’s moral, economic or political interests. By criticizing a player who knelt during the anthem and exhorting the owners to fire the “son of a bitch,” President Donald Trump has put the government into the equation even if he did not himself directly enact the new kneeling rule. But it is unlikely that a judge would base a ruling on that intrusion.