ESPN and the AP have been following this story for a couple of days, see this update of the fallout from comments by St. Louis coach Rick Majerus in a television interview, indicating his support for abortion rights while attending a Hillary Clinton rally over the weekend.
Tricky Rhetorical Situation at play here. Does his high-profile job at a leading Jesuit University entail a reasonable expectation on the part of his Employer that he not go to the Media with politics contrarian to Church doctrine?
Would retaliation of any kind be an abridgment of his right as an American citizen to speak his mind, as it were, off the clock? For that matter, does the University's status as a private religious institution put it in a position to legally fire him over this?
And even if it would be within its legal rights, would it be an asinine thing for the University to do?
Snippets:
A Roman Catholic archbishop said Tuesday that he will ask officials of Saint Louis University to take "appropriate action" against its basketball coach [. . .]
St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke declined to say what the action against Majerus should be, saying that was a decision for the Jesuit university. But he said the coach is a leader and shouldn't support views in opposition to church teaching [. . .]
The archbishop resigned last year as board chairman for the Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation because of a benefit-concert appearance by Sheryl Crow, a native Missourian who supports abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research
1 comment:
This is very interesting.
Some Catholic Universities have a conscience clause within the contracts of professors and school administrators. I am not sure if every Catholic school follows this and I am not sure if it applies to coaches. The clause wants those who sign it to adhere to the teachings of the Church and the abortion issue seems to be the most important. Public stands against aboriton are frowned upon; teaching the controversy is not bad as long as the entire controversy is taught.
You are correct on some of the issues, but they may be a little different:
1) When he made these comments, did he identify explicitly with the University or is it more of an implicit identification? Is any one every free from their identification?
2) Did Majerus sign a conscience clause contract? This is one of reasons why someone could take "approprite action" against the coach.
There is a good book on the first amendment in the workplace, Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace by Bruce Barry.
Very Interesting.
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