No, it doesn't, and people use the word "slave" in a non-100% serious and/or literal sense all the time (slave over hot stove, slave to fashion, "I'm not your slave", wage slave, etc...). you are reaching for reasons to make his comment seem bad. It wasn't. It was fine. Frankly, anyone who got offended by it should probably seek professional help for oversensitivity.
One would assume that most people in today's day and age would be socially sensitive/socially aware enough to avoid comparing their high paying "job" of playing football to that of anything involving slavery.
How, exactly was Spikes a "slave" while at New England? Was it because he was paid handsomely to perform his job, keep his focus on the team, avoid getting suspended, and expected to show up to practice with everyone else?
Boy, I sure feel sorry for the horrible plight that he went through.
You make a fine point that the term is used in other ways, but in this case he was obviously comparing it to the recent movie. As far as people being overly sensitive today, I agree with you. That said, his comments didn't draw the focus of the sportsworld across the country today for no good reason. It's currently the leading topic on both major forms of social media, so the way that I feel about it being "obviously stupid" are not in the minority.
I dont disagree with the thrust of your argument (in fact I agree with most of it) in a philosophical send but I think you're looking for too much nuance in what was a cheap Twitter punchline
I don't mean to look too much into it
myself per se.
I am simply stating that I can definitely see why some would be offended.
On top of that, I find it hard to defend the comment as lacking obvious stupidity, but respect the fact that everyone sees things differently.
We have one hell of a track record to base Spikes' stupid comments off of, so to me this just seems like one more.
Spikes made a stupid attempt at humor likening his situation to a topic he knows will incite debate given the recency of the film. Spikes has a history of tweeting and saying dumb things. When you combine these factors, the implication appears obvious.
I'm not offended by Spikes' tweet because I did not take it seriously given the poor attempt at humor. What's silly is the insistence of those telling others what they should think because their value systems differ.
Yes, Aus. Pretty much my only point. Spikes has made a ton of idiotic statements in the past 4 yrs. To me, this sure seems to be one more. Obviously he expected some to be offened, although maybe not...maybe he's really just that dumb.
Again--it's America, so I respect the right that everyone has to feel differently.
Either way you look at it, it doesn't show good judgment. Another example of choosing to keep your mouth shut when in doubt.