Could Brandon Spikes be suspended for his current tweet?

[naF staP]

Per Boston.com



A tweet from Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes has stirred up controversy once again.

On Wednesday, Spikes posted a comment about homosexuality.

“I’m homophobic just like I’m arachnophobic. I have nothing against homosexuals or spiders but I’d still scream if I found one in my bathtub!” he wrote.

Many Twitter users criticized him for the post, even after he later tweeted “PEOPLE !!!! It’s a joke … seriously a JOKE !!! Chill out.”

Spikes’s tweets are often vulgar and sensational. During the NFL referees lockout, his Twitter comment comparing replacement officials to Foot Locker employees made national headlines.

Yunel Escobar, a shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays, was suspended three games in September for writing a slur about homosexuality in Spanish on his eye black during a game against the Red Sox Sept. 15.
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Will Rodger Goodell suspend Brandon for this?

BTW, props to Spikes for now using my picture as his avatar!

 

[PatsDeb]

Oy, the stupidity of youth. Brandon, shut up and play football!!
(and no, I don't think he'll be suspended because secretly [and unfortunately] most of the people in the NFL probably agree with him.)

Edit - making a dumb joke on your Twitter account is not the same as advertising a slur on your face during an actual game. What a dummy that guy is.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

He didn't use the hot-button hate words that would make it a slur, so he should be OK IMO.

 

[condon84]

No problem with his tweet it at all.

 

[Sciz]

He definitely didn't need to come out and say it, but a player admitting to being homophobic isn't anywhere near suspension-worthy in my mind.

 

[Juddy]

He definitely didn't need to come out and say it, but a player admitting to being homophobic isn't anywhere near suspension-worthy in my mind.

He isn't admitting homophobia it's a joke. People are way too uptight.

 

[Deus Irae]

While there's nothing wrong with his tweet, or even a legitimately anti-homosexual (or anti-anything) comment on his private time, athletes haven't been smart enough to get this stuff removed from the purview of the league commissioners, so anything's possible.

 

[Bhelmet]

Sad, the 1st Amendment does not apply to the NFL - we already know Goodell is a tyrant so Brandon's fate is up in the air. I actually thought the tweet was funny - not hate at all.

 

[brdmaverick]

Are people REALLY offended by his statement? It was a joke. Sure, insensitive, but most jokes are.

Being a celebrity I would think that Brandon would want to limit anything that can be blown out of proportion, but I think most of it is people LOOKING for things to be offended by.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

Re: Could Brandon Spike be suspended for his current tweet?

The sight of a huge dude like Brandon Spikes ripping open a shower curtain to find Adam Lambert and screaming like a teenage girl is a pretty funny image actually. I might scream like a little girl if I found anything unexpected in my bath tub.

People weren't getting any sort of sanction for annihilating the replacement refs (Mr. Spikes included), I don't see why a joke like that over Twitter is worth punishing, particularly because there wasn't an ounce of malice in his command.

 

[signbabybrady]

What I would like to know Brandon, is gay people bathing in your tub something that regularly happens like a spider in the tub?

 

[Fixit]

Re: Could Brandon Spike be suspended for his current tweet?

Sad, the 1st Amendment does not apply to the NFL - we already know Goodell is a tyrant so Brandon's fate is up in the air. I actually thought the tweet was funny - not hate at all.

You're right; the First Amendment doesn't apply to the NFL, as the amendment applies specifically to government limiting free speech, not a corporation.

Having said that, I don't see how anyone could read his Tweet as being homophobic. It was a silly joke, and you could've replaced "homosexual" with "Italian" or "hippopotamus" and it would have had the same non-meaning.

Having said that: Brandon, just get the f*** off Twitter until you grow up enough to stop saying dumb **** that can be used against you by a vocal few.

 

[lamafist]

While there's nothing wrong with his tweet, or even a legitimately anti-homosexual (or anti-anything) comment on his private time, athletes haven't been smart enough to get this stuff removed from the purview of the league commissioners, so anything's possible.

I don't think there are many, if any, high-profile jobs where one is not held accountable for one's public statements.

 

[Patjew]

Re: Could Brandon Spike be suspended for his current tweet?

So Spikes hates gay spiders. Big deal.

 

[Snake Eyes]

A Phobia is an irrational fear of something, is Spikes afraid of gay people? He makes a great point, but with that said it doesnt matter, it will be interpreted as being anti-gay and he might very well face disciplinary action in this politically correct world of ours.

The Patriot way is to simply shut up and play, I wish he'd get that.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Weather it's right or wrong use better judgement. Players are under a microscope as it is. Wonder if BB got a kick out of it.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Could Brandon Spike be suspended for his current tweet?

You're right; the First Amendment doesn't apply to the NFL, as the amendment applies specifically to government limiting free speech, not a corporation.

Having said that, I don't see how anyone could read his Tweet as being homophobic. It was a silly joke, and you could've replaced "homosexual" with "Italian" or "hippopotamus" and it would have had the same non-meaning.

Having said that: Brandon, just get the f*** off Twitter until you grow up enough to stop saying dumb **** that can be used against you by a vocal few.

I'm not racist or anything, but I'd scream if I came home and found a Mexican in my bathtub.

 

[lamafist]

While I enjoy a Goodell-bashing session as much as the next guy, it does merit pointing out that he's made no attempt to stop Chris Kluwe and Matt Birk from engaging in a public debate over gay marriage within the pages of a local Minnesota newspaper.

 

[Salva135]

If you were ever insane enough to actually follow Spikes on twitter, you'd realize that he's an idiot. Nothing new here. Every NFL team has its share of them, even the Pats. As long as he keeps beasting on the field, I'm not going to spend another second worrying about this. And I doubt any measures are taken by the league or team to punish him.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

If I were gay I honestly wouldn't be offended by that at all. I think it's pretty funny. That said, not sure of the appropriateness of making comments like that in full view of my boss(es).