Speech
AskAsa
10/14/2011 2:03:24 PM
Hank Williams had every right to say what he said.
ESPN had every right to fire him for saying it.
Say anything you like in this country - just be prepared to deal with the consequences.
Re: No Thanks
driven
10/14/2011 11:32:07 AM
@Scott "I was thinking I was in some shabby, dirty Hooters in a third-rate city drinking bad light beer with some rednecks."
What are you objecting to: the rednecks, the light beer, the city itself or Hooters? Because not all four of those things are equally bad.
BigJim,
I see what you are saying. Point taken. But why even go there... it's stupid. You know that whenever you use the word "Hitler" it will not be taken lightly. Boehner and Obama are not Hitler or Netanyahu, it doesn't matter who he was implying was whom. The analogy doesn't make any sense.
I guess the main reason I am glad Williams is gone is that I really, really hated the song. It was so stupid. Whenever I heard it I was thinking I was in some shabby, dirty Hooters in a third-rate city drinking bad light beer with some rednecks.
--Scott
Re: No Thanks
Dex
10/14/2011 10:26:50 AM
I'm not denying ESPN has the right to hire or fire on whatever grounds it chooses. However, what will it do to the brand/stock price? I understood why Aflac fired Comedian Gilbert Godfrey Fired over his Tasteless jokes after the earthquake in Japan. But the new commercials are even more annoying than the ones featuring Godfrey as the voice of the Aflac duck.
Americans are forgiving. Sometimes an apology goes a long way, and may be the best way to compromise between bad/insensitive behavior and company value/reputation.
Re: No Thanks
BigJim
10/14/2011 10:12:50 AM
Scott, ESPN sacked Williams after the country singer said that House Speaker John Boehner’s golf game with Obama “would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu.”
It was a lousy analogy. But the point was that Obama and Boehner are as different as Hitler and Netanyahu.
Who says Hitler was supposed to represent Obama and not Boehner? Who says Hitler was supposed to represent either of them -- but rather, was like saying:
"having my cat and dog in the same room" would be like having "a lamb and a lion in the same room." I'm not saying either my cat or dog is equvalent to a lamb or lion. I'm just saying they are also natural enemies. Stupid, yes, And so was Williams comment. But it is America, and Obama and Boehner are both public figures.
Re: No Thanks
cat tail
10/14/2011 10:02:39 AM
I hate the song, and I'm lukewarm on Monday night football. That said, as a Disney investor, I worry about "protecting" the brand after the fact. Shouldn't ESPN have been smart enough to put a clause in Williams contract before he said something stupid advising him that he was 1) a singer and 2) not a statesman and 3) he can say anything he wants as a private citizen, but as a brand rep, he has to abide by certain standards? I mean, it's just common sense.
If we start dumping every actor, athlete and artist for their stupid comments (look how far Sheen went before he got fired) we will have nothing left to watch.
More reasonable: A warning to Williams, an apology to fans/investors/ and a little patience to see if this was a one time gaff or a pattern of questionable behavior.
I totally disagree with almost everything in this article.
1) The Hank Williams song stinks. It's cheesy 2nd-rate country.
2) Comparing the president of the United States to a Nazi is not only disrespectful, its borderline hate speech.
3) Free speech is not the issue. Hank Williams Jr. was hired to perform for ESPN. It's a private transaction. They are protecting their brand. They fired him. If you hired somebody to play music at your house and you don't like what they say and order them out of your house are you against free speech? No, you're just choosing not to pay them to perform in their house. They are totally free to go say whatever they want to say somewhere else!
Re: The bottom line
tokyogai
10/14/2011 8:04:16 AM
I still think we should value free speach and if people want to listen to these enetrtainment types, we should allow it.
The bottom line
Tenacious
10/14/2011 7:14:04 AM
None of these things would be issues, as you suggest, if singers would sing and actors would act, and leave the comments about politics and other weighty issues to people who know more than they do. Hank Williams, Tony Bennett. Bill Maher.
Why don't they learn from their own mistakes?
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