Quote Originally Posted by Kfanarmy View Post
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I think this is in bounds of the forum, as it is about the treatment and amount of "control" folks think they should have over former Duke basketball players...
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I appreciate the verve with which you state your opinion, though I'm not sure I fully understand the rules for what a former Duke basketball player may say and not garner some civil "punishment" by "we." I assume that "we" means you and whoever thinks like you on any given societal topic. If it is the larger "we," as in society as a whole, I disagree. In fact, I think it is a far more egregious act against a free society to have people wanting to ostracize others because of opinion. I dare say Kyrie's continued association with the university is far more in line with its, at least public, stance on tolerance than is yours. There will always be people who have differing opinions. Kyrie is NOT a university official. He is NOT, as far as I can tell, in anyway claiming to represent Duke University with his opinions. It is far better to let those opinions be expressed publicly without attempting to quash them and create resentment or worse.

I'm gonna guess Duke alum have a wide array of opinions about what is and isn't with respect to COVID fact/fiction and science. Do you want to silence any basketball players who disagree with you on the subject of genetically created viruses and vaccines, wear/don't wear masks, the good and bad for vaccinations, age appropriate decisions, etc.?

Don't like him, so be it. Don't read, listen to, talk about him, watch old Duke games he is in, highlights...whatever. Don't like what he's got to say, I get it. I don't get what moral authority people claim so they get to decide what is "beyond the pale" and "out of bounds." So long as he isn't intentionally hurting anyone, (and I'll bet that isn't his intent), I vehemently object to the notion that Duke should ostracize him because some don't like what he is posting to Instagram.

Yes, I think I do understand the concept of "freedom of speech." I also understand this second layer of people who believe they have the moral authority to tell others what they can and cannot say, on the flimsiest of relationships, to find ways to punish those whose positions and opinions differ. In my personal opinion, the latter is far worse for all of us.

IMO Kyrie and his, perhaps off-the-wall, opinions add color to the tapestry of our society. The thread may be course to the touch, but it is worth having.
Trying really hard to not veer into PPB:

Setting aside Duke Basketball being a private actor who can endorse/reject speech as it chooses, more generally, why shouldn't the marketplace be able to reject ideas that a majority of the community at large finds "beyond the pale"?