Hank Jr. writes song about 'Fox & Friends, ESPN

[Lint Head]

When the demonstrators against GWB's torture and war policy were arrested and had their free speech infringed with free speech zones they did not have access to Curb Records finances to make a comment or commercially viable 'for profit' reply. The same is true for the OWS movement.
My opinion is that any label putting this garbage out should be boycotted. Remember the KKK and White Supremists love Hank Jr.

http://www.charter.net/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CD9Q9CJBG2%40news.ap.org%3E&ps=1011

[Justyce]

1. I hope he doesn't get the publicity a boycott would bring. nt

[Richardo]

2. ...and not a single fuck was given throughout the land...

[Coyote_Bandit]

3. His politics suck but

his political views are completely irrelevant to broadcasting football games.

Nobody should lose their job because they dare to speak their political views - even if those views are disagreeable and offensive to some.

[Lint Head]

4. Like Glenn Beck?

[tosh]

5. Was it really a job

or was it a royalty agreement? I think it was the latter.

[Coyote_Bandit]

8. OK then

his political views are completely irrelevant to his royalty agreement. Happy now?

I am a liberal who lives in red state buckle of the Bible belt hell. In an employment at will state. I've observed employers watching parking lots to identify who drove cars with particular bumper stickers. You put the wrong bumper sticker on your car or display the wrong political candidate sign here and you may find yourself without a source of income. That's wrong.

And it's not a whole lot different than what has occured here. Somebody voiced a political vierw that was completely irrelevant to their source of income. Somebody else took offense and cut off that income. That's wrong.

[tosh]

14. It is quite different, C_B.

This was no bumper sticker and ESPN is not required to play that ditty.

[RiverStone]

6. ESPN has the right to fire a representative that hurts their brand

I think having this racist wingut fired not only made sense, but was a moral obligation.

Yes, Hank's fuck up perception of life is irrelevant to football games. This was a business decision and a good one!

[Coyote_Bandit]

11. And who decides who hurts their brand?

They do.

Here in red state buckle of the Bible belt hell it is a moral obligation to dispense with political liberals. I've observed my bosses watching the parking lots to identify who was driving the vehicles with particular bumper stickers. Employees who lost their jobs without any recourse in this employment at will state.

I view this as a free speech issue. The right to free speech trumps commercial branding rights every fucking day.

[fishwax]

10. *he* is completely irrelevant to broadcasting football games

ESPN had the rights to air his song as an intro. They're no longer exercising that right because his extreme views may hurt their brand. Perfectly fair and reasonable.

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. Their action was retalitory

and was the direct result of his speech.

ESPN and Hank, Jr. had the ability to contract regarding public conduct and speech - in the same way that advertisers that use professional athletes as spokesmen often have clauses that prohibit any number of activities. I've not seen anything to indicate that such an agreement was in place. Contracting to forego certain speech and behavior generally carries a price. If Hank did not fulfill the obligations of his contract ehn ESPN had every right to cut him off. It is vindictive and controlling for ESPN to terminate the contract if his speech was legal and outside the scope of the contract.

This is a free speech issue. The right to free speech does not end simply because the speech is offensive.

[fishwax]

13. of course it was retaliatory

Or at least in response. And you're right, we don't have any idea what the contract said. There may have been conduct clauses and there may not have been. It may simply be that ESPN had the right to air his song, but not the responsibility. If ESPN removing the song is in violation of a contract, then I'm sure HankJr could launch a successful lawsuit.

[Tom Ripley]

18. This is NOT a free speech issue. The government did not ban him or

restrict his right to express his opinion.
"Free speech" does not mean whatever you want it to mean.

[Initech]

20. Exactly - the US didn't restrict his speech, he's still free to say whatever he wants.

Even if he is a douche about it.

[Lint Head]

7. I love the Dixe Chicks!!!

[Tom Ripley]

9. Mike Curb has a looooooooooooong history as a rightwing scumbag....

he probably gave Nocephus the largest production budget that he's had in decades

[DinahMoeHum]

15. BTW, his real name is "Randall", not "Hank Williams, Jr"

according to this blog:

http://rebelfrequencies.blogspot.com/2011/10/not-my-country.html

(snip)
... Williams was born into the very beginnings of a musical dynasty. By the time of his legendary father’s untimely passing, his mother Audrey could lay claim to a growing fortune. When Hank Jr. was four years old, she was able to pay Senior’s second wife $30,000 for the exclusive rights to the title “Hank Williams’ Widow”--a sum that nowadays would be over a quarter million dollars. With that kind of business savvy, Williams Jr. had a comfortable upbringing.

Even the handle of “Hank Williams Jr.” is something of a stretch. His actual given first name is Randall. Like everything else in Williams’ repertoire, it’s always been an act.

That hasn’t bugged the entertainment executives, though. Far from it, what we now call the “country music establishment” has spent the past several decades manipulating the music of Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson to get in line with “red state” values. That Williams, a man who has made his living off a parodied version of the working class, should find a home with a network whose own take on class is at best insulting is, to say the least, fitting.
(snip)

The blog owner's name, BTW, is Alexander Billet, and he had similar comments to make on the Edge of Sports blog re this issue:
http://www.edgeofsports.com/2011-10-05-654/index.html
(scroll down near to the end to the comment: Zirin's right, Williams is a chump

In short, the guy ain't no working-class hero, just a parody of one.

[Lint Head]

16. He once won the Darwin award falling off a clif in Montana. Even his face is fake.

[Tom Ripley]

17. Absolutely. That's why I also refer to him as "Randall" or "Nocephus" or

"The untalented hack who stole David Allan Coe's shtick"

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. While I agree with the majority of your post...

...my husband was neither a member of the KKK nor a White Supremacist.