Kansas State Football Players Boycott All Football Related Activities
I think we’re about to see just how much power the players can exercise because they just put K-State over a barrel.
A K-State student tweeted something in poor taste regarding George Floyd and the team want the administration to take action.
The tweet.
His history could make it more difficult from another perspective. Why hasn’t KSU done something already? They will probably have to build an argument about the negative impact on the student body and the voicing of that student body.
Regardless, even public entities have the ability to dissociate with people who repeatedly do things which do not embody the values of the organization. Doesn’t matter if it is firing an employee or expelling a student.
Exactly. He can use his free speech to say what he wants. Others can use their free will to weigh standing against a racist asshole and punching him in the face vs being arrested for minor assault.
"100 football players of various races and backgrounds who represent the school." It's hard to believe that the entire team was totally behind this decision but in todays world, the effects of not being totally in with what is politically correct makes some suppress their own beliefs and give up their Constitutional right to their own free speech. Was there some kind of secret ballot that took place to come up with this resolution? Are the 2nd and 3rd team players who will have no options to transfer to other P5 school really willing to give up their scholarships and careers, even for a cause that they believe in? It will be interesting to see what happens in this case.
Let the children be in charge, they will find out soon enough how non-essential they, and their sport, is.
These players bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the university. I'm willing to bet that KSU will side with them over some loser racist who brings in nothing.
The fans are the ones who bring in that money.
I am willing to bet that KSU has a right-leaning fan base. Alienate them and you are looking at a significant loss of revenue.
If the players don't play then there's nothing for the fans to spend their money on.
They can spend on a great number of things.
Football is one diversion out of countless diversions.
Fans drive everything in business.
So they're gonna find something else to spend nearly $100 million on? Yeah, don't think so.
Yes.
Believe it or not people do not need sports to be entertained. Professional sports leagues know this which is why they are despite to get back.
And what other entertainment options are there that benefit Kansas State University?
Scientific peer-reviewed journal articles.
Fans are going to pay to watch professors submit and resubmit articles?
Movies, theater, hiking, a thousand different things. It’s like you have no conception of life before spectator sports.
People spending money on those things does not benefit KSU. How is that hard for you to understand?
Unlike UM, the KSU football team does not bring in anywhere near 100M. And a good portion of the profit is TV money, which the fans are not directly contributing money towards.
Ok I actually looked it up and it's close to $50 million. Which is still a big number and one that I'm willing to bet that KSU isn't willing to part with. Point being, if the players don't play there's no money from tickets or TV or anything. So yeah, I would think the university would side with the players over McNeil.
Sure, sports make state schools a lot of money and help build the school's brand, but they are state academic institutions first that receive a ton of state and federal funding on top of tuition and fees from students for academic reasons.
The campus is in Manhattan. I'm pretty sure there's plenty to spend their money on.
[listens to earpiece]
OK I've just been told it's not that Manhattan. Never mind. They have nothing to spend their money on.
KSU football was awful for generations. I am pretty certain they can find other things to entertain them.
Stringer- This is not true. Over a decade ago, the Denver Broncos claimed that they would move to another city if the citizens did not vote to fund their new football stadium. One claim that they made was that they bring millions of $$$ to the city. However, various studies showed that if these people did not have football to spend their disposable income on, they would simply spend it on other activities and the economic impact would be the same. The only case that could be made on the Broncos' behalf was in the case of those who travel to the games from out-of-state and spend money, who otherwise would spend it in their own areas.
The city and the university are different. KSU doesn't have other activities for fans to spend their money on besides football.
Did KSU opt out of hosting concerts of all music types, including big time acts? Do they not host a lecture series? Do they not have a theater department? Sure, the locals may eventually get sick of attending “The Wizard fo Oz”, but then again, maybe not.
My kids told me you can buy stuff on the internet.
Life will go on with or without sports because it has gone on without sports since March.
Something I did not think was possible but it has happened.
Time without sports has allowed me to readjust priorities and grow. Save money, too.
This is literally a blog that's primary focus is college football. (Well, when there is a season.)
The same people who say this shit’s shit of lying shit are the same people who justify that the sick and elderly can stay home so the manliest of healthy men can go risk everyone’s health to watch a football game in person.
You aren’t kidding us by calling young men kids for protesting for their rights to not be be mocked for being black.
None of those “kids” gives a shit what you think about their protests or how you view them as children or if you watch them on TV or not. Plenty more fans will actually enjoy them more for not letting racists get away with blatant racism.
Saying their un-essential after two months of begging them to play and debating it says otherwise—and they know it. And they will still have a free education, to boot, for playing a game people love to watch them play.
black fragility is starting to become a little too much these days
So is the white guilt. My Facebook is full of people falling over themselves to prove how much they love black people. Going to black owned restaurants is great but to have to take a picture with the owner and post it with their public review urging people to also go is fucking pathetic. My best man and vice versa is black and he knows exactly how I feel about him and his family without me having to post a work status proving how amazing I am. But since being woke only counts if it’s done online, I must be a bigot/racist.
I think that has more to do with social media and peoples need to document their whole lives than it does with white guilt. My recommendation is to get off social media, I did and zero regrets.
Yet you felt the need to post this “black friend” fact here?
Ironic
MgoBlog commenters are anonymous. Typically and fundamentally, Facebook is not.
I wouldn't call you a bigot or racist necessarily, but based on this 1 post I would call you stupid!
learned a new phrase from a Ted talk this week did we? keep telling on yourself
Aristotle is gonna sue your ass!
(yawn)
Damn, what happened to George Floyd was wrong, but we're actually going to deify him to this extent? Who gets to decide if something is offensive enough to kick a student out of school?
It's not about the deification of the individual, it's about a student - with a history of hateful/intolerant remarks - spitting in the face of a current social movement that is important enough for the student athletes to make this stance.
Who decides you ask? In this case, the university that has the power to expel or retain him based on their assessment.
I think people having been giving the current social movement a bit too much reverence and lese majeste. It seems that anyone who raises any criticism of the movement and/or the actions of its participants is immediately disparaged and persecuted. The movement has some positive aspects and goals but is NOT beyond reproach. We should never allow public emotions to restrict our freedom of rational discourse. (I'm not talking about the jerk doing this tweet, although his speech is still probably constitutionally protected, I mean more generally.)
Bo H-
As summarized in Wikipedia, "Hate speech in the United States is not regulated, in contrast to that of most other liberal democracies, due to the robust right to free speech found in the American Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that hate speech is legally protected free speech under the First Amendment." As despicable as his Tweet was to some, he still has the right to say it. Are we currently willing to give up the rights that has made our country what it is? Aren't the KSU players asking that he lose freedoms, which the movement that they are supporting with their protest is trying to gain? Our country is based on giving minority opinions the ability to be heard within our society, no matter how unpopular.
That’s only if attending KSU is a right of all high school graduates. Denying someone the ability to attend a state university is not the same as taking their speech away.
Your argument sounds perfectly right to the Chinese Communist Government.
I'm sure he can attend Liberty University. It's a free market, right?
Interesting. Thanks. I’m not sure how they handle this, but as the poster below states there is the other side of the coin which is - guy can keep his free speech but university can disassociate itself from him. I’m not sure How that would work at a public university.
sadly the k state players are actually asking that they themselves lose freedom in the future as well....what applies to one applies to all citizens...theoretically of course
I’d just find the kid and straight kick his ass.
i think in a stramge way this is maybe lacking in society today. i knew not to run my mouth as a teen unless i was willing to throw...period. There wasnt a lot of jawing back and forth back then..
What he sad is atrocious. He should probably for his own good remove himself from campus and seek help for his racism.
It is deeply disturbing that a football team is trying to compel an university to dismiss a student.
KSU should cancel the season and ask themselves whether they still want a football program. The program cannot be bigger than the university.
Agree on 1, 2, and 3.
The only thing I can say is Twitter/Facebook/etc. are quite possibly the biggest cesspools on earth.