He's Back

WABC radio, out of New York, the most listened to talk station in the nation, is hiring Don Imus to do their morning drive time. When MSNBC and CBS decided to fire him last year (or was it earlier this year?) I said that it was not censorship and completely within their rights as a private company to fire their employee if they thought him bad for business. Now that WABC is hiring him, I say the same. There will be some who say, "He should not be allowed to be on the radio." But why not? If WABC thinks he will gain them listeners, then it is their right. He broke no laws.

Here's a strange irony. WABC is the number one talk station in the nation and is flag ship to the number 1 and 2 radio hosts in the country (Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity). Their line up also features conservatives Mark Levin, Laura Ingram, John Gambling, etc. Don Imus, an unabashed political liberal will have their number one time, morning drive.

The Right to Suspend

Okay, students, sit up straight and get ready for 6th grade civics. I have been hearing on sports talk radio that Michael Vick should not be suspended because in this country we are innocent until proven guilty and that the NFL has no right to suspend a man who has yet to be convicted of a crime.

Pay attention all you victims of public school in the 90s (fortunately, I had 6th grade in the early 70's, before modern educational theory messed everything up). Michael Vick is innocent until proven guilty so HE CANNOT BE SENTENCED FOR A CRIME BY THE GOVERNMENT.

However, and this is the important part, being innocent of a crime does not mean you cannot be fired by your employer.

Allow me to draw and analogy to Don Imus. Imus committed no crime (except against good judgement and good manners), and yet was removed from his job by his employers. At the time, some of my conservative friends said, "We must stop this, for it is the first step to ending free speech." But they were wrong. His employer also has the right to free speech and doesn't have to pay Don Imus to say something else if he doesn't want to. In this case, Don Imus's product for public consumption became less valuable to his employers than did keeping him. So they fired him, and they were within their rights.

Likewise, NFL football is an employer that makes it's money --and quite a bit of money-- by producing a product for public consumption. That product is football games played for the joy of spectators who pay through their ticket sales, their support for sponsoring products, and their purchase of licenced NFL merchandise. The NFL is not required to employ every human capable of playing professional level football. Like it or not, Michael Vick is not guaranteed a job because of his talent. If the NFL decides that the product he gives for public consumption (that is, his football skills) has become less valuable than what he costs in public good will, they are free to fire him.

Now, they are not free to forbid him to play football. He may buy a football --he probably owns one already-- and go in his yard and play all he wants. Perhaps he can even throw a ball to his dogs who can retrieve it for him.

Thus ends the lesson. Class dismissed.