Hank and His Rowdy Mouth

The marriage between Hank Williams Jr. and Monday Night Football came to end last Thursday when ESPN decided to permanently pull the “Are you ready for some football?” intro from its MNF telecast. The move came on the heels of comments that Williams made on Fox n’ Friends in which he made an analogy that President Barack Obama and House Speaker Rep. John Boehner golfing together was like Nazi leader Adolph Hitler and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu playing a round.

Understandably, ESPN decided to discontinue its association with Williams and on Thursday made it official. Williams' theme song has been part of "MNF" since 1989. The song was a version of his hit "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" that he altered to match each week's game. He owns the song and all the rights to it, so ESPN will not be able to use it in any way.

Many commentators and comedians have come to William’s defense, claiming ESPN was infringing on his right to free speech. His defenders included the left-leaning Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar of "The View" and Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" and on the other side of the political landscape Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh.

Luckily for the world of music and mass media, Williams has cut a new song “I'll Keep My ..." calling out "Fox & Friends" and ESPN. Early in the song Williams says the U.S. is "going down the drain" and says it's becoming "The United Socialist States of America." He mentions keeping "Fox & Friends" and ESPN out of your home toward the end of the song.

Cool lyrics…I see a Grammy coming out of this.

For the record, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

Despite claims by Williams and his defenders, ESPN did not trample his first amendment rights and (I cant believe I am going to say this) Fox n’ Friends did not engage in “gotcha journalism.”

On the contrary, Williams got to exercise his first amendment right and shot off his rowdy mouth. Fox n’ Friends did not twist his words, and they provided him with the opportunity to clarify his statements. The Federal Government did not in any way violate his constitutional rights, he was not detained or arrested, nor was he beaten, tortured or coerced into making any false or misleading statements.

So in conclusion, Hank got to speak his mind, and because of the inflammatory nature of his comments, ESPN decided to no longer do business with him. This is within their rights as a “for-profit” private enterprise. One other point, private companies (which are now considered “people” thanks to the Supreme Court) are NOT constrained by the 1^st Amendment.

Many people do not understand free speech.

Yes, Hank Williams, Jr. has the right to free speech. But that right comes with strings attached; specifically a private citizen is not afforded 1^st amendment protections as an employee of a corporation. The employer has the right to stifle the speech or terminate the employee if the employee in question hurts the corporation’s image or bottom line. When one takes a job they agree to the conditions specified by the employer. The courts have ruled that one may either refuse the employment or quit the job.

 Williams spoke his mind (such as it is) and ESPN didn’t like the negative publicity that came their way as a result. In this country, private citizens, even wacky guys like Hank have to take responsibility for what they say. When you compare the President of United States to a psychopath who murdered millions of innocent people, you will find that most intelligent people will find that offensive. ESPN has every right to make sure their highest rated show does not start off every week with someone who offends people. That is their right.

Hank is still free to speak his mind just not on ESPN’s dime.