Madden: Mendenhall owes an apology

Madden: Mendenhall owes an apology

Mark Madden
Times columnist

When Rashard Mendenhall tweeted thoughts construed as being sympathetic to Osama bin Laden, his defenders (there are surprisingly many) positioned their argument as a free speech issue.

Sorry, but it's not even close.

Not one person on my radar has said that Mendenhall isn't entitled to opine however he sees fit. No one has suggested Mendenhall should be arrested and tried, treasonous though his tweets may be.

Hard to imagine that the founding fathers had seditious statements by a pro athlete in mind when they devised the First Amendment. It's still more difficult to believe that Mendenhall thinks his hypotheses on things political would matter to a large audience.

But he sure did attract one.

Anyway, this has nothing to do with free speech and everything to do with the reaction of those who employ Mendenhall.

Champion sports apparel released Mendenhall from his endorsement contract. A spokesman said Champion believes Mendenhall "could not appropriately represent Champion" after his tweets.

Mendenhall had every right to say what he did. But the First Amendment could not prevent Champion from firing Mendenhall.

So, do the Steelers feel Mendenhall appropriately represents them? Mendenhall is decent at his job, not exceptional. He plays one of the NFL's most interchangeable positions. What should the Steelers do?
http://www.timesonline.com/sports/steelers/madden-mendenhall-owes-an-apology/article_9d77af84-3739-5e27-b2a2-97cc35478337.html

I think it would be ridiculous to let Mendenhall go based on his comments. He is a moron, nobody doubts that, but he is way to damn good to throw out just because of some very unintelligent remarks. I would fire him if he were a teacher in my school district, but not a football player. Tell him to keep his mouth shut, and maybe the next time he does something like this...then we have repercussions. He's just too valuable to this team.

I agree with McFly. He just needs to shut up and play. If we didn't throw Ben out for what he did, no need to get rid of Mendy.