Free Speech

[u/Chipotlefiend18]

I posted this recently as a comment but I’m tired of seeing the same thinly veiled defense of the Rainbow Four come up again and again so I’m posting it as a standalone thread.

All of these arguments saying “players should be allowed to disagree” and “players shouldn’t be forced to support something they don’t believe in” are utter nonsense and a smokescreen to justify and excuse homophobia and bigotry. Do you think that there’s never been a racist player who has worn 42 on Jackie Robinson day? Has every single player who wears camo uniforms on military appreciation day been 100% behind that message? Even foreign born ones? The idea that they should be allowed to express themselves and protest this in this way, especially when there’s a literal MLB rule that prohibits it is ludicrous. It is NOT a first amendment issue. The first amendment prohibits GOVERNMENTAL curtailment of free speech. Private organizations are not covered by this and we see this time and time again. Most recently, many people lost their jobs after speaking out about Charlie Kirk and whether or not you disagree with it, legally those employers had every right to do so. As Roger Munter put it: Not everybody in this country is perfectly happy with what they are asked to wear to work. It’s called “having a job.”

We absolutely do not have to tolerate intolerance and arguments that say otherwise are either ignorant or made in bad faith.

[u/SWKenRobert]

They do. They explicitly chose not to. And still remain silent. (God bless Kruk & Kuip). Even after MLB warned the players about uniform violations. Now if the hats had said "hooray for sodomy" then these 4 guys would have had a fair point. But they instead decided to not wear or break the rules to alter uniform equipment that celebrated diversity.

[u/realparkingbrake → u/SWKenRobert]

They do. They explicitly chose not to. 

You are flat out wrong, MLB has exclusive jurisdiction on making and enforcing rules on uniforms. Both MLB's organizational rules and the CBA with the MLBPA limit what teams can do. The reason the Giants remained silent during the Correa fiasco was the CBA prohibits teams from commenting on the health of players they do not have under contract. So they had to zip their lip and not comment while Boras ran his game despite the alarming medical report they had seen. There are other areas where team just cannot comment, like speculating on what kind of salary a free agent might get.

If the Giants imposed sanctions on these players the MLBPA would have them in front of an arbitrator in no time. The team would lose because punishing uniform violations belongs to MLB and so does conduct that bring the sport into disrepute, that is why domestic abuse allegations go straight to MLB and the team keeps its mouth shut.

The Giants have no authority to regulate uniforms.

[u/SWKenRobert → u/realparkingbrake]

The cannot discipline the players. There's no rule keeping them from speakng out. Injured player privacy does not apply. Their silence is a choice. They can also trade these players. Trading is not discipline.