The NFL doesn't want or need their singers introducing controversy to their broadcasts and like it or not, probably half their audience thought Hank Jr. sounded like an ignorant doofus, and lots of them complained. Same thing in reverse for the Dixie Chicks and I liked them but didn't blame stations for taking them off their air - they didn't need that crap when the goal is getting listeners and selling ads, same thing for the NFL.
The NFL I would assume has little to nothing to do with what song a network plays at the beginning of a broadcast. Until the song suddenly disappeared after being a tradition, if not then close to it, most probably had no idea what HW, Jr said. The ones that did care are the doofuses and HW, Jr had a legal right just as much as players do... but at least he didn't do it during game time.
You don't think people, patriotic folks like the kind of folks that watch a lot of NFL, complained about the jerk QB protesting in this manner?
And if you understand stations, individual Music stations, making decisions about the Dixie Chicks, how could you not understand it when I used it down below and you are suddenly lost? You are aware that there are independent TV stations all across the US, right?
I'm not aware that the NFL has the contractual right to either fire the player for expressing political views or to decide to not broadcast his team's games. Can you tell me how they'd accomplish this without violating a slew of contracts that would get them sued before they finished signing the directives?
Again, it would be ESPN broadcasting the game, not the NFL, and if the network can take the financial hit of the politically correct dropping of the HW,J song, they can probably enforce political correctness in the other direction as well. And if they dont, maybe they should have that in their broadcast contracts in the future. I know I will never watch another NFL game as long as they are taking sides, ostensibly against my country.
There are a lot of patriotic Mom, baseball, apple pie folk out here and football has been right up there as well.
Taking Hank Jr. off the air was on the other hand was something that seems CLEARLY within their prerogative. Who knows what their financial arrangement was with Hank, but I doubt the contract required the NFL to use his song every week.....
ESPN....ESPN...
See above.
No, what I see is I can't imagine ESPN has the legal right to 'take a stand' on broadcasting that player's team's games. They do have the legal right to decide who sings their intro, clearly, and who broadcasts from the booth on game days or on Sports Center or whatever, but not what the players they televise do, especially when what those players are doing is clearly and obviously legal. If any punishment will come from anywhere it will be from the team.
If they don't have the right to determine which games they broadcast, and NFL responsibilities to more closely manage their players decorum at work [ I was a teacher and we certainly were not allowed to display such nonsense ] they most certainly should in the future.
If there is going to be balance and fairness, then the SF QB should be off the field during ESPN broadcasts. At minimum not be paid during his team's ESPN televised games perhaps. What is good for the singer performer is good for the player performer.
The point was the principle of the thing, not whether it actually affected your listening habits, but you knew that.
Funny, you seem to understand principle when you want to, but seem to ignore it when you do not. Yes, the legalese may get in the way, but the principles should stick no matter what.
Secondly, you specifically were calling me out on tuning in or out of the Dixie Chicks episode... I simply explained my actual situation. But you knew that.