Questions:
- Do you think it is acceptable for teams to refuse to sign players because of their beliefs?
- Do you believe there should be any punishments or consequences for coaches who refuse to sign players based on their beliefs?
- Do you think that there should be any changes or additions to the rules regarding the rights of athletes to express themselves?
Although it is immoral, I believe that teams do have to right to refuse certain players because of their beliefs. A manager should do whatever is best for the team as a whole and if they think that bringing on a player with really strong beliefs may hurt the team in some way (locker room moral, team bonding, extra press.) then they should be allowed to refuse to sign him. Also, because the topics they are protesting and the way the go about protesting (sitting down for the anthem) is very controversial, many coaches and managers may not want future players who would do something that the coach doesn't believe is morally right. I do not feel that there should be punishment to anyone who chooses to either protest or refuses to sign protesters. I think it is great that these athletes are standing up for what they believe in, but before they do something as controversial as sitting for the anthem they have to know that there will be backlash and they may be risking their reputation and/or career. I believe that there doesn’t need to be any changes to the rules regarding the rights of athletes to express themselves. As an athlete it is your choice to perform peaceful protests on the field, but if you do you can’t expect everyone to agree with you and receive no backlash from a coach or manager.
ReplyDeleteI think it is wrong for a team not to sign someone because of their beliefs. However, I don't completely believe that the only reason why teams won't sign these players is because of their beliefs. I think that a lot of the reason players like Kaepernick is the press that comes with them. Kneeling during the national anthem brings good and bad press and most owners don't want that kind of attention brought to their team. I do believe that some teams won't sign players because of their beliefs as well and that is wrong but for the most part I think teams don't sign them because they don't want the attention of doing so.
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is acceptable for teams to refuse to sign players solely because of their beliefs. After all, in the United States, we are guaranteed the right to free speech and our own opinion. If a coach were to refuse to sign someone because of their religious belief, then I think even they would see that it is not acceptable, but because they believe it is protesting the NFL itself they feel justified. I think that there should be some sort of punishment for coaches who refuse to sign players based on what they believe, but I think it would be difficult. If they had to sign them regardless, there is always the chance of the player not getting fair playing time because the coach says so. Having said that, I believe that Coaches shouldn't be able to look at what their players think, and choose whether to play them or not because of their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is morally unacceptable to sign or not sign due to their beliefs. Although the politics and social issues have been at the forefront in sports, I believe that within the sphere of athletics, beliefs do not play a role in the talent of a player. You can see a prime example in Colin Kaepernick once he was released and not signed essentially because of his role within the protests that were ongoing in the NFL. This was proven that his beliefs played a key aspect in his free agency because of the several quarterbacks that were signed, who were considerably worse than Kaepernick during his tenure. It is morally unacceptable that someones beliefs and how they display them has been a larger factor than talent. Although this is wrong, I do not think there can be a form of punishment to the front offices of teams because there is no punishment for not signing someone who is not on a team. However I do think that there needs to be one team to step out and sign a player like Kaepernick who has caused controversy and will ultimately lead to more players like this finding teams. I do think that players should be given more freedom to express themselves rather than them being antagonized like they have been in the past.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't think it's morally right for A team not to sign a player because of their beliefs, I don't think teams and managers should be required to sign somebody even if they disagree with their beliefs. In many instances, a coach may not want to sign a player with strong beliefs over religion or race because it will draw in a lot of unnecessary bad press. For example, Colin Kaepernick is very passionate in specific areas of politics, although it's great he is expressing himself, it's gaining a lot of negative attention. For that very reason, coaches may not want to sign him because that kind of attention would hurt the team's reputation and could mess with the team chemistry. I don't think there should be any punishments if a coach doesn't sign somebody for their beliefs, as a coach you need to do what is best for the team and if that means avoiding inner/ outer team conflict by not signing a player, then the coach should be able to do that. If the coach was not singing the player because he is doing it to be racist then yes I do think there should be a punishment because that's discrimination.
ReplyDeleteIt is acceptable for owners to not sign players for their actions, such as protests, but they should not be denied for their religion. In the case of Kapernick and Reid, it is not a question of their religious beliefs, it is to do with their american anthem protests. Owners are spending millions of dollars on their players, so they should take lots of precautions when signing a player. Like I said before, if these had to do with religion, then there should be punishments because that has nothing to do with football, nor will it interfere. With the protests though, I do not think coaches should get punished. I do not think any rules should be changed regarding players expressions. Players can express themselves how ever they want, but their job can be affected just like any other job can if they protest.
ReplyDeleteAlthough players should have the right to voice their beliefs and opinions through protest, I think that owners should have the ability to not sign players for their actions. Looking at Kaepernick and Reid, they are voicing their beliefs passionately, they are bringing a lot of negativity towards the NFL. The NFL is a money making business, and when players like Kaepernick and Reid bring in so much negativity, the views and ratings go down, causing the organization to lose money. I think that coaches should not be punished for not signing players for their beliefs, but if they are refusing to sign because of religion, then they should have some form of punishment. However, religion has nothing to do with the protest of NFL players. I don't think that any rule could be put in order for players protesting, but they should be able to do whatever their heart desires. If they choose to protest, they need to do it peacefully, although there will be people who will call the player out for it. If they choose to protest, they need to be able to do it in a fashion so they don't go overboard, because then bad and good press would come in and give the NFL a worse reputation.
ReplyDeleteNo I do not think it is acceptable for teams to discriminate the players they sign based on their beliefs. However, I do not think this is what is happening with Colin Kaepernick. I think that the teams do not the negative publicity associated with Kaepernick, and it not worth taking that on for a player who is not stellar in the first place. At the end of the day teams are employers and they have the right to choose who they hire and who they don't for whatever reason to some extent.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is very wrong for coaches to not hire someone because of their beliefs. This goes against the fundamentals of American beliefs and ideals. Again however, I do not think this is what is happening with Kaepernick. Employers cannot discriminate who they hire based on their beliefs, but they can choose who they hire based on their actions and what they bring to the team.
I think athletes should be able to protest however they want to. But, they have to be willing to face the repercussions of their actions, which may be discrimination. More likely they will not be hired because of the baggage they will bring to their team. I believe that this is part of protesting. It should not be easy, it should be a sacrifice that maybe not everyone is willing to make. This is what makes it powerful and meaningful.
I believe that it is wrong for coaches to not hire athletes because of their beliefs but I could see why. It is not illegal for a person to have their own beliefs such as NFL players kneeling for the national anthem. I could see why coaches do not want to hire players with these certain beliefs. The coaches do not want to hire a controversial player that could give their team a bad reputation which could cause even more problems in the future. So I believe that it is wrong for players to not be hired for their beliefs but there are fair reasons for coaches not wanting to hire these people.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that in the instances related to the national anthem protests, players are not being signed because of their beliefs. Instead, I think that the teams are deciding not to take these players because of the bad publicity that they carry with them. While these consequences for players utilizing their rights to protest are upsetting and seem unreasonable, professional sports are a money making business and it is simply not worth it for teams to sign these players at this point. Even though I don't believe that in this case the players are not being signed because of their beliefs necessarily, I think it would be wrong for a team to openly deny players who have contrasting political or social beliefs. If there were a situation in which franchises were openly refusing to sign players because of beliefs, I do think that they would need to be punished. At this point I think it would be the responsibility of the league as a whole to punish teams or individuals on a case by case basis.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that is an acceptable that nfl teams do this because the teams are trying to make money, and if they believe that having these protest or beliefs will inhibit them from making money in anyway then it makes sense that they don't want to sign them. I don't believe teams should be punished for this because they have the right to sign whomever they want and if they don't want to sign those players then so be it. I don't think its necessary to change any sort of rules regarding players beliefs or protests because as it stands the NFL wants to make money and they are a business, so if they don't want bad publicity then that what they want.
ReplyDeleteWhile there is an ethical issue in play when it comes to this topic I feel that the outcome is inevitable. Just as many people believe that teams shouldn't discriminate players on their political beliefs, I don't believe that teams should be forced to sign these players either. In the free market society that we live in teams would take a burden by signing one of these players as it may be a very unpopular decision to the fans. Just as teams have the right to not sign players based on their history of being a trouble maker, bad teammate in the locker room etc... their decision should be no different in this decision. While these players who protest fully have the right to do so they should be prepared to face some realistic consequences of those actions, and that might be to end up as a free agent.
ReplyDeleteI dont think that any person should be discriminated based upon what they believe, or what they stand for regardless of if they are athletes. I dont think that coaches and teams should be punished for choosing not to sign certain players due to political reasons. Bottom line teams hire players to bring in money, and if they see that players standpoint will effect their revenue they should have the right to deny them. I think all people should have the freedom to express their opinions without ridicule, but the NFL is a business and if a player effects that negatively it is there right to not play that individual.
ReplyDeleteI do not think its acceptable for teams to refuse to sign players because of their beliefs, but I also think that you can’t force them to sign players. I think if the reasoning behind not signing a player is due to their beliefs then that should be punished with fines or harsher punishment. If they are caught saying they won’t sign a player due to their beliefs that shouldn’t be tolerated. With all the rule changes in the NFL, I think there should be freedom and rights to be able to express themselves just like any other citizen in the United States, it all goes back to the 1st amendment, the right to the freedom of speech .
ReplyDeleteI don't think this is right because if a player chooses to believe in something that is their choice and they should not be signed just because of the fact that they believe in something that the team does't because yes it may hurt a reputation of a team but that should not be a problem because if someone believes in something you should allow them to do this so that they can one perform for your team and two stay and believe in what they want and what they like. So if a player can help your team you should not, not sign them just because you think it will look bad.
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