Civil Rights Civil Liberties Aaron Zwetschkenbaum It is evident that neither former President Donald Trump nor the Pittsburgh Steeler’s head coach Mike Tomlin’s actions violated the symbolic free speech rights of the National Football League players. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution States clearly that every citizen of the United States enjoys the freedom of speech while inside the nation. Freedom of speech is not exclusive to speech spoken aloud; it also includes speech that is written but more shockingly includes symbolic speech1. The precedent for symbolic speech being a protected form of speech was set in the landmark case Texas V. Johnson. In this case Gregory Lee Johnson burned a flag during the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas. He was subsequently arrested and arrested on charges pertaining to Texas’ law which forbode flag burning and declared it illegal. The case made it to the U.S. supreme court where they ruled that the burning of a flag is an extension of freedom of speech2. This set the precedent that actions are now also part of what the First Amendment calls “speech’. The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to written, spoken, and symbolic speech. The question in this case is if former President Donald Trump and Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin obstructed these protections with their actions and comments on players kneeling during the National Anthem in the 2017 season. It can be concluded that neither candidate obstructed the player’s right to symbolic speech with their actions. 1 Ronald Khan, (2023, October 22) Retrieved from https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/symbolicspeech/#:~:text=CC%20BY%204.0),Symbolic%20speech%20consists%20of%20nonverbal%2C%20nonwritten%20for ms%20of%20communication%2C%20such,another%20individual%20or%20public%20order. 2 (2023, October 22) Retrieved from https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/factsand-case-summary-texas-v-johnson Former President Donald Trump did not hinder the players’ First Amendment right to peaceful protest. Though Donald Trump used some choice words with his tweeting he never passed legislation or restricted the players in any capacity. He tweeted “…any time I witness a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our Country and our Flag, the game is over for me!”3. The presidency of the United States is a massive position of world leadership, but this does not prevent the president from voicing his opinion on things. Even the president is protected under freedom of speech as no words were used to incite any kind of violence and he did not act as a state actor. Furthermore, Coach Mike Tomlin’s actions also did not obstruct the players’ access to symbolic speech. In 2017, He orchestrated a team meeting in which the players voted on what actions they would take during the playing of the national anthem. The only thing Tomlin asked was for the team to act as a unit. The team voted to stay inside during the playing of the anthem. They did not, however, obstruct anyone from acting if they felt strongly enough4. Tomlin never prevented any single player from using symbolic speech and only asked the team to act like a team. The first Amendment clearly gives the players the right to symbolically protest the National Anthem, and this right is affirmed by the Texas V. Johnson Case. It is also clear that as acting as private actors instead of state actors that both Trump and Tomlin did not infringe on any players’ First Amendment rights. Therefore, it is clear that former President Trump and Coach Mike Tomlin did not violate the symbolic free speech rights of the National Football League’s players. 3 Chris Bumbaca (2023, October 22) Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2020/07/21/donaldtrump-athletes-kneeling-during-anthem-great-disrespect/5477583002/ 4 Jacob Klinger (2023 October 22) Retrieved from https://www.pennlive.com/steelers/2017/09/steelers_national_anthem_vote.html
