Sports Media discussion

[southsider2k5]

Ben Finfer is out at ESPN

 

https://www.facebook.com/bfinfer/posts/10155891191009857

[Kyyle23]

Ben Finfer is out at ESPN

 

https://www.facebook.com/bfinfer/posts/10155891191009857

 

It is unfortunate that an anti trump tweet did him in, but he should have known better. He isnt the first ABC/ESPN/Disney employee to get punished for doing something like that

[joejoedairy]

Bomani Jones last show on espn radio was yesterday. He'll be doing a podcast now.

 

Russillo's last show is Friday. He's going to do a podcast for a little while before probably leaving the company.

 

[Dick Allen]

It is unfortunate that an anti trump tweet did him in, but he should have known better. He isnt the first ABC/ESPN/Disney employee to get punished for doing something like that

It's just stupid. Maybe not as stupid as the Pizza Hut employee who put the joke on the box. But it is the same in the sense it seemed they wanted to get fired.

 

If anyone is unaware of the Pizza Hut story, someone ordered a pizza online and asked that the store write a joke on the pizza box. The joke was what do a gynecologist and pizza delivery driver have in common. If you don't know the answer, you can google it. It would boggle the mind to think someone actually thought putting that on a box and remaining employed was something that was going to happen.

[southsider2k5]

It's just stupid. Maybe not as stupid as the Pizza Hut employee who put the joke on the box. But it is the same in the sense it seemed they wanted to get fired.

 

If anyone is unaware of the Pizza Hut story, someone ordered a pizza online and asked that the store write a joke on the pizza box. The joke was what do a gynecologist and pizza delivery driver have in common. If you don't know the answer, you can google it. It would boggle the mind to think someone actually thought putting that on a box and remaining employed was something that was going to happen.

 

Yeah, you have to realize there are just some things that you can't talk about with a public persona. Especially because you know your employer has already laid down the law here and targeted people much more important than yourself in this exact regard.

[Jack Parkman]

Yeah, you have to realize there are just some things that you can't talk about with a public persona. Especially because you know your employer has already laid down the law here and targeted people much more important than yourself in this exact regard.

This is inherently wrong. You should be able to voice your private political views, when not at work, without being fearful that you could lose your job. This is thought control to the nth degree. If organizations are so incredibly "image concious" that speaking publicly( whether on social media or calling into a political show on the radio) about politics, when not at work, is such a workplace "no-no" that you can lose your job there is something really really wrong with US corporate culture in general. The ramifications are incredible. The only thing that should matter is whether or not you are doing your job, not political ideology when off the job. I mean, this is your employer saying "shut up and do what you're told, otherwise starve to death" The only thing that should matter is whether or not you do your job. Obviously, extremely hateful ideology is an exception,(think Nazis) but just voicing reasonable political viewpoints on the web and losing your job is a slippery slope that leads to bad places, somewhere that we don't want to go in this country.

Edited December 20, 2017 by Jack Parkman

[southsider2k5]

This is inherently wrong. You should be able to voice your private political views, when not at work, without being fearful that you could lose your job. This is thought control to the nth degree. If organizations are so incredibly "image concious" that speaking publicly( whether on social media or calling into a political show on the radio) about politics, when not at work, is such a workplace "no-no" that you can lose your job there is something really really wrong with US corporate culture in general. The ramifications are incredible. The only thing that should matter is whether or not you are doing your job, not political ideology when off the job. I mean, this is your employer saying "shut up and do what you're told, otherwise starve to death" The only thing that should matter is whether or not you do your job. Obviously, extremely hateful ideology is an exception,(think Nazis) but just voicing reasonable political viewpoints on the web and losing your job is a slippery slope that leads to bad places, somewhere that we don't want to go in this country.

 

In the 21st century when people lead full on boycotts over who an employer employs, this is a complete fantasy land. We live in a society of social warriors, and expecting a company to take a hit because of who their employees are outside of work isn't realistic at all. We have gone there long ago... especially since you contradict your own words by creating exceptions.

[Dick Allen]

This is inherently wrong. You should be able to voice your private political views, when not at work, without being fearful that you could lose your job. This is thought control to the nth degree. If organizations are so incredibly "image concious" that speaking publicly( whether on social media or calling into a political show on the radio) about politics, when not at work, is such a workplace "no-no" that you can lose your job there is something really really wrong with US corporate culture in general. The ramifications are incredible. The only thing that should matter is whether or not you are doing your job, not political ideology when off the job. I mean, this is your employer saying "shut up and do what you're told, otherwise starve to death" The only thing that should matter is whether or not you do your job. Obviously, extremely hateful ideology is an exception,(think Nazis) but just voicing reasonable political viewpoints on the web and losing your job is a slippery slope that leads to bad places, somewhere that we don't want to go in this country.

As much as I agree with Ben's view on this subject, this is wrong, and ESPN is far from the only company that will fire you for tweets. These days, you might not get hired because of your tweets. Why should a company lose business because you like to open your mouth? Now if he kept it protected, I could see your point.

[Kyyle23]

This is inherently wrong. You should be able to voice your private political views, when not at work, without being fearful that you could lose your job. This is thought control to the nth degree. If organizations are so incredibly "image concious" that speaking publicly( whether on social media or calling into a political show on the radio) about politics, when not at work, is such a workplace "no-no" that you can lose your job there is something really really wrong with US corporate culture in general. The ramifications are incredible. The only thing that should matter is whether or not you are doing your job, not political ideology when off the job. I mean, this is your employer saying "shut up and do what you're told, otherwise starve to death" The only thing that should matter is whether or not you do your job. Obviously, extremely hateful ideology is an exception,(think Nazis) but just voicing reasonable political viewpoints on the web and losing your job is a slippery slope that leads to bad places, somewhere that we don't want to go in this country.

 

Twitter isn’t private, and I’m pretty sure Finfers twitter was representative of ESPN in the name. If you want a private political opinion then you should probably have a completely private and anonymous twitter handle

 

 

[Jack Parkman]

In the 21st century when people lead full on boycotts over who an employer employs, this is a complete fantasy land. We live in a society of social warriors, and expecting a company to take a hit because of who their employees are outside of work isn't realistic at all. We have gone there long ago... especially since you contradict your own words by creating exceptions.

I'm sorry, I completely disagree. This kind of MO is what leads to fascist dictatorial takeovers of government, by putting pressure on the citizens for compliance by socioeconomic ostracism.

 

[southsider2k5]

I'm sorry, I completely disagree. This kind of MO is what leads to fascist dictatorial takeovers of government, by putting pressure on the citizens for compliance by socioeconomic ostracism.

 

The left has argued for decades it is the only way to enact change.

[Kyyle23]

I dont think Ben Finfer getting fired for making a bad trump joke is going to turn the USA into a fascist dictator government, but thats just me.

[southsider2k5]

I dont think Ben Finfer getting fired for making a bad trump joke is going to turn the USA into a fascist dictator government, but thats just me.

 

Also true.

[Brian]

I dont think Ben Finfer getting fired for making a bad trump joke is going to turn the USA into a fascist dictator government, but thats just me.

 

He and Jemele Hill could combine forces!

[Jack Parkman]

I wasn't talking about Finfer's joke directly, but more to the idea that personal politics can cost you your job, if you make it public. I lost a job because I posted my own political views online and because my boss was disagreed with my post he fired me. It had zero to do with whether or not I did my job well, he didn't like that I called out corporate CEOs for lining their pockets instead of paying a living wage to their employees. That kind of behavior is dangerous.

[southsider2k5]

I wasn't talking about Finfer's joke directly, but more to the idea that personal politics can cost you your job, if you make it public. I lost a job because I posted my own political views online and because my boss was disagreed with my post he fired me. It had zero to do with whether or not I did my job well, he didn't like that I called out corporate CEOs for lining their pockets instead of paying a living wage to their employees. That kind of behavior is dangerous.

 

Nothing about our freedoms protects you from the consequences of your own actions.

[LittleHurt05]

It's just stupid. Maybe not as stupid as the Pizza Hut employee who put the joke on the box. But it is the same in the sense it seemed they wanted to get fired.

 

If anyone is unaware of the Pizza Hut story, someone ordered a pizza online and asked that the store write a joke on the pizza box. The joke was what do a gynecologist and pizza delivery driver have in common. If you don't know the answer, you can google it. It would boggle the mind to think someone actually thought putting that on a box and remaining employed was something that was going to happen.

 

That was a pretty damn good joke IMO.

[ptatc]

I wasn't talking about Finfer's joke directly, but more to the idea that personal politics can cost you your job, if you make it public. I lost a job because I posted my own political views online and because my boss was disagreed with my post he fired me. It had zero to do with whether or not I did my job well, he didn't like that I called out corporate CEOs for lining their pockets instead of paying a living wage to their employees. That kind of behavior is dangerous.

That would have gotten you fired at any point in time, not just in today's climate.

[Kyyle23]

I wasn't talking about Finfer's joke directly, but more to the idea that personal politics can cost you your job, if you make it public. I lost a job because I posted my own political views online and because my boss was disagreed with my post he fired me. It had zero to do with whether or not I did my job well, he didn't like that I called out corporate CEOs for lining their pockets instead of paying a living wage to their employees. That kind of behavior is dangerous.

 

I work at a Fortune 500 bank, and we are trained that our online opinions and actions can have consequences at our job, including termination. I’m sorry you feel this is fascist but no company is required to plug their ears and ignore an employees life outside of work. Finfer was clearly representing ESPN on twitter, there was no ifs ands or buts about it.

[Jack Parkman]

Nothing about our freedoms protects you from the consequences of your own actions.

That is a bulls*** excuse authoritarian leaders of whatever organization/government use to wield power and control the masses. It is mind control/brainwashing. The fact that most people actually believe the above post is and indictment on the amount of critical thinking that people use. It is used to bring normalcy to an unjust economic/political system.

Edited December 20, 2017 by Jack Parkman

[Kyyle23]

That is a bulls*** excuse authoritarian leaders of whatever organization/government use to wield power and control the masses. It is mind control/brainwashing. The fact that most people actually believe the above post is and indictment on the amount of critical thinking that people use. It is used to bring normalcy to an unjust economic/political system.

 

This is where you are getting s*** all messed up. The government didn’t force ESPN to fire him, nor did they do it to your employer. They did it of their own volition because they didn’t like how their company was being represented.

[Jack Parkman]

I work at a Fortune 500 bank, and we are trained that our online opinions and actions can have consequences at our job, including termination. I’m sorry you feel this is fascist but no company is required to plug their ears and ignore an employees life outside of work. Finfer was clearly representing ESPN on twitter, there was no ifs ands or buts about it.

I think it can be used as a tool to silence political dissent vs the status quo via socioeconomic pressure. If he was representing ESPN on twitter, then fine. Otherwise it is bulls***, dangerous and a slippery slope to fascism. You The very definition of fascism is the merger of business and government interests. The government's job is to protect people from business abusing them. Business, in general, should be apolitical. It operates to provide goods and services to consumers for a profit. Nothing more. If a business is apolitical, then it should not care what political views its employees have.

[southsider2k5]

That is a bulls*** excuse authoritarian leaders of whatever organization/government use to wield power and control the masses. It is mind control/brainwashing. The fact that most people actually believe the above post is and indictment on the amount of critical thinking that people use. It is used to bring normalcy to an unjust economic/political system.

 

This is a candyland answer for those who want to live in anarchy with no consequences. The first thing you teach a child is that their actions have consequences. The attempt to try to link the private sector to government here is almost as bad.

[Jack Parkman]

This is where you are getting s*** all messed up. The government didn’t force ESPN to fire him, nor did they do it to your employer. They did it of their own volition because they didn’t like how their company was being represented.

I have a problem with this statement. You only represent your company when you are performing your job, at work or a business meeting or whatever. If companies think that every aspect of a person that they hire "represents their values" when not on the job then that is an invasion of privacy and opens up a whole new can of worms. Your job is your means of providing yourself income. It is not your entire existence. The fact that companies may believe this is, again mind control. When you're in your suit handing out your business card, yeah, you're representing your company. When you're at home shooting the s*** with your buddies, you're not representing anyone but yourself.

[Balta1701]

A bunch of the torch carrying guys in the Charlottesville rally got fired afterwards because they weren't smart enough to wear white hoods while doing it.