Colt Lyerla Tweet: 1st Amendment, or school interference necessary?

[IrishSteelhead]

Apparently the Oregon TE tweeted a video debunking Sandy Hook as a government conspiracy. The school is (understandably) not happy for the attention. Lyerla simply called the video "food for thought" and didn't take a stance.

Did he cross the line? Should the school have gagged him?

UO football player Colt Lyerla tweets controversial conspiracy theory about Sandy Hook shooting | Emerald Media

 

[Irishnuke]

Generally I think kids should be able to tweet whatever they want, no matter how stupid. I can understand the school not being happy though. Are schools/teams allowed to ban players from twitter? And if so on what grounds? Social media has to be a nightmare for coaches and schools.

 

[irishpat183]

Let him tweet what he wants about current events. That has nothing to do with football.

 

[JTLA]

Short Pier

Short Pier

Apparently the Oregon TE tweeted a video debunking Sandy Hook as a government conspiracy. The school is (understandably) not happy for the attention. Lyerla simply called the video "food for thought" and didn't take a stance.

Did he cross the line? Should the school have gagged him?

UO football player Colt Lyerla tweets controversial conspiracy theory about Sandy Hook shooting | Emerald Media

People get very confused about what the First Amendment says. It is not a license to say whatever you want.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

This does not mean that a school, an employer, a business, or an individual can't penalize you for being an idiot.

It means that the government can't make laws to penalize you for being an idiot.

IMHO, since you are a representative of that school and a scholarship-ed one at that, they should tell this young man to go take a long walk off a short pier, but that's just my opinion.

 

[BeauBenken]

Generally I think kids should be able to tweet whatever they want, no matter how stupid. I can understand the school not being happy though. Are schools/teams allowed to ban players from twitter? And if so on what grounds? Social media has to be a nightmare for coaches and schools.

Good question. I'm not sure exactly if they have authority to ban you from twitter, but they certainly won't hesitate to tell a player that they have suspended or banned them from twitter.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Good question. I'm not sure exactly if they have authority to ban you from twitter, but they certainly won't hesitate to tell a player that they have suspended or banned them from twitter.

Obviously the players are not employees of the university, but certainly represent it on a more national scale than the average student. Since the school is paying players with room and board & tuition (that's all, hehe), I can see where they feel the right to censor student athletes whom may paint the university in a negative light with opinions/comments that can be deemed controversial or offensive in nature.

I think the fact that Lyerla just put it out there, and didnt openly support the theory, just brought it to light, did no harm to his image or the school.

 

[Grahambo]

I assume what happens is the team will have a twitter policy and if you violate it then you can be suspended from tweeting. Of course the school is going to be pissed because he is representing the school whether he likes it or not and whatever he does/says is a reflection of that school.

Regardless, sure, go ahead and post whatever you want; doesn't make you any less of an idiot. For somebody to call the parents of the little deceased as liars is beyond anything I could ever imagine.

 

[ACamp1900]

My first thought was who was in the world thought Sandy Hook was a gov. conspiracy to begin with???

 

[irish1958]

It is none of the school's business what he does on his own time, provided he does it off school property, not on school supplied computers or cell phones and does not state or imply connections with the school.
If he has agreed to restrictions on his activities as a prerequisite to join or participate in a voluntary activity (such as a football team or school paper) then he is bound to follow the rules and restrictions imposed.
There is no first amendment right to have me (via taxes) support your views.
For example, the school should restrict and censor the school newspaper as they wish. If the student doesn't like it, he should resign from the paper and publish his views and opinions elsewhere as is his first amendment right free from school sanctions but subjected to civil laws and liability as any citizen would be.
The same with twitter.

 

[rikkitikki08]

My first thought was who was in the world thought Sandy Hook was a gov. conspiracy to begin with???

You should youtube sandyhook government conspiracies .......about a gazillion videos come up. Incredibly dumb people out there

 

[Emcee77]

It is none of the school's business what he does on his own time, provided he does it off school property, not on school supplied computers or cell phones and does not state or imply connections with the school.
If he has agreed to restrictions on his activities as a prerequisite to join or participate in a voluntary activity (such as a football team or school paper) then he is bound to follow the rules and restrictions imposed.
There is no first amendment right to have me (via taxes) support your views.
For example, the school should restrict and censor the school newspaper as they wish. If the student doesn't like it, he should resign from the paper and publish his views and opinions elsewhere as is his first amendment right free from school sanctions but subjected to civil laws and liability as any citizen would be.
The same with twitter.

I imagine this is the issue. If players are tweeting stuff that outrages the public, it just becomes a distraction to the team and the athletic department, due to their visibility. Obviously, the university couldn't and wouldn't stop a normal student from posting the same tweet. It's Lyerla's status as a football player that causes the uproar. People start to wonder whether other guys on the team believe the same stuff, and it becomes a p.r. nightmare.

 

[irish1958]

My first thought was who was in the world thought Sandy Hook was a gov. conspiracy to begin with???

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?"

 

[BGIF]

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?"

Lamont Cranston

 

[BeauBenken]

Obviously the players are not employees of the university, but certainly represent it on a more national scale than the average student. Since the school is paying players with room and board & tuition (that's all, hehe), I can see where they feel the right to censor student athletes whom may paint the university in a negative light with opinions/comments that can be deemed controversial or offensive in nature.

I think the fact that Lyerla just put it out there, and didnt openly support the theory, just brought it to light, did no harm to his image or the school.

You would be amazed by people's sensitivity.

 

[BeauBenken]

Seriously though...did you guys watch the video?

Donation pages for massacre relief setup days before the massacre occurred...?

 

[BGIF]

You would be amazed by people's sensitivity.

... and other people's insensitivity.

 

[BeauBenken]

... and other people's insensitivity.

Certainly.

 

[Grahambo]

If you watch the video then take a few minutes to read this as it breaks down the video and basically renders the video useless:

snopes.com: Sandy Hook Hoax Video

 

[pumpdog20]

The first amendment protects you from going to jail. It doesn't protect you from a twitter ban or lost playing time.

 

[BGIF]

Seriously though...did you guys watch the video?

Donation pages for massacre relief setup days before the massacre occurred...?

Pages setup for other purposes before Sandy Hook and redirected their purpose for relief after Sandy Hook.

See the last bulleted item in the Snopes write up.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

It's only food for thought if you are an idiot.

 

[ACamp1900]

Pages setup for other purposes before Sandy Hook and redirected their purpose for relief after Sandy Hook.

See the last bulleted item in the Snopes write up.

I didn't and won't look into it, but when Beau mentioned that, your explaination was the first thing that came to mind.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

It's only food for thought if you are an idiot.

Its narrow-minded to think anything isn't food for thought, no matter how ridiculous, unless it offends you of course.

 

[Grahambo]

I didn't and won't look into it, but when Beau mentioned that, your explaination was the first thing that came to mind.

It's not a bad breakdown of the video. It gives a logical explanation for everything the video tries to distort.

 

[ND NYC]

its too bad congress cant pass a law against being a fuc*$#ng idiot.


...there wouldnt be enough prisons anyway

 

[Emcee77]

The first amendment protects you from going to jail. It doesn't protect you from a twitter ban or lost playing time.

Well, the First Amendment protects you from more than just jail ... it protects you from civil liability too, in certain contexts (such as, for instance, where you make unintentionally false but harmful comments about a public figure involved in an issue of public concern), and it does prevent state universities from interfering with their students' constitutionally protected speech, in certain contexts (for instance, the Supreme Court said in a case in the mid-90s that the University of Virginia could not deny a registered student organization student-activities funding merely because the organization was a magazine with a religious viewpoint, because that was viewpoint discrimination prohibited by the First Amendment).

But all that said, the First Amendment definitely does not protect a football player from punishment by a football coach or athletic department for posting inflammatory and offensive tweets.

 

[BeauBenken]

Pages setup for other purposes before Sandy Hook and redirected their purpose for relief after Sandy Hook.

See the last bulleted item in the Snopes write up.

I did. That idea didn't really cross my mind.

I'd figure you'd just make a new page, but I digress.

 

[BeauBenken]

It's only food for thought if you are an idiot.

That's why I often refrain from considering most of what you post.

 

[kmoose]

Obviously the players are not employees of the university, but certainly represent it on a more national scale than the average student. Since the school is paying players with room and board & tuition (that's all, hehe), I can see where they feel the right to censor student athletes whom may paint the university in a negative light with opinions/comments that can be deemed controversial or offensive in nature.

I think the fact that Lyerla just put it out there, and didnt openly support the theory, just brought it to light, did no harm to his image or the school.

Did we read the same article?

When pressed by another Twitter user, Lyerla laid out his opinion plainly:




@anhyzerroc I got you. The parents of the kids that supposedly died in the sandy hook situation are liars.

— ..::⚡C⚡::.. (@ThaRealCL) March 21, 2013



Lyerla retweeted a few Twitter users who appeared to agree with his point of view. Lyerla and Twitter user @anhyzerroc argued for over an hour about the validity of his claims.

 

[BGIF]

The parents of the kids that supposedly died in the sandy hook situation are liars

Herr Goebbels would be proud.