Drake Takes the Cake

joe dokes

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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27913518/mlb-looking-long-umpire-rob-drake-tweet
Drake tweeted late Tuesday that he planned to buy an AR-15 rifle "because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! #MAGA2020", according to a copy of the tweet obtained by ESPN.
The tweet, which was deleted soon after it was posted, followed one earlier in the night regarding the House of Representatives' impeachment proceedings with President Donald Trump.
The other tweet read: "You can't do an impeachment inquiry from the basement of Capital Hill without even a vote! What is going on in this country?"
Drake deactivated his account Wednesday. He did not return phone and text messages.
 

glennhoffmania

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Awesome. He sounds like a solid, stable, intelligent guy. Just the kind of person you want making split second decisions in a game. I bet some players may not be so cival to him next time he umps.
 

MakeMineMoxie

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The floor of Punter's Pub
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
 

Marciano490

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Is MLB Congress?
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Is he posting this under MLB or his own account? If MLB is infringing on his 1st Amendment rights, that's a problem.
So only the GOVERNMENT can't legally infringe on your freedom of speech rights. Anyone else can, which is why if you hurl insults at someone at a fast food (or any other kind of) restaurant, you get tossed out if the manager has any kind of backbone. It's why your workplace can tell you not to swear at customers or do anything else that reflects poorly on them as a business and employer.

It's great that you can recite it from rote (giving you the benefit of the doubt here), UNDERSTANDING it will take you much further.
 

glennhoffmania

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Is he posting this under MLB or his own account? If MLB is infringing on his 1st Amendment rights, that's a problem.
Sorry but you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. If you post incredibly offensive shit on Facebook and your company fires you can you sue them for violating your right to free speech?

Hint- the answer is no.
 

joe dokes

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Really? Either you have Constitutional rights or not. Why is this even a thread? Is it because you don't like what he had to say?
Since I started it......

1. There aren't a lot of umpires. MLB is investigating one of them. That would seem to belong in an MLB thread, no?

2. The First Amendment only limits government action, not action taken by a private entity like MLB.
 

BroodsSexton

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Really? Either you have Constitutional rights or not. Why is this even a thread? Is it because you don't like what he had to say?
Imagine you got banned from this website for posting dumb. You think a lawyer is bringing a First Amendment claim on your behalf?

Now, if you wanted to argue that MLB operates under color of law given its antitrust exemption, at least you’d get points for creativity....but you’d still fail.
 

bankshot1

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Drake seems to be arguing his right to shoot a Congress person engaged in a wholly constitutionally sanctioned activity, with which he takes issue. MLB or the police or FBI might want to ask him a few questions.
 

Unin10D

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Feb 7, 2017
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"YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR"

Because it's clearly too much to ask for a MLB umpire to have two working I's
 

Jim Ed Rice in HOF

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Jul 21, 2005
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Drake seems to be arguing his right to shoot a Congress person engaged in a wholly constitutionally sanctioned activity, with which he takes issue. MLB or the police or FBI might want to ask him a few questions.
I think you're stretching on this one. Saying there will be a "cival [sic] war" doesn't imply shooting members of Congress. Likewise his other tweet doesn't say he's looking to harm Congress members.

Wow, that is a lot of bad calls, 1 out of 7 is 2 or 3 mistakes every single innings. Yikes.
I don't want to veer too off course but I do want to point out that mistake rate has improved every year since '08 and is at 9.2% now. I'm thinking the advancement in technology leading to more knowledge of missed pitches coupled with an emphasis on calling the correct strike zone from MLB has driven this.
 

Brianish

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Really? Either you have Constitutional rights or not. Why is this even a thread? Is it because you don't like what he had to say?
The point is that his constitutional rights aren't what you seem to think they are, because they don't include 'not getting fired for being a threatening, belligerent asshole.'
 

bankshot1

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I think you're stretching on this one. Saying there will be a "cival [sic] war" doesn't imply shooting members of Congress. Likewise his other tweet doesn't say he's looking to harm Congress members.
Of course I stretched, at times hyperbole is called for.

And while i stretched, it seemed you contracted, and eliminated Drake's desire to purchase a AR-15.

What does Drake propose to do with an AR-15 in a coming "cival" war sparked by rogue Dems congress people?

He might be better off getting a copy of the Constitution and a dictionary.
 

Max Power

thai good. you like shirt?
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Jul 20, 2005
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Of course I stretched, at times hyperbole is called for.

And while i stretched, it seemed you contracted, and eliminated Drake's desire to purchase a AR-15.

What does Drake propose to do with an AR-15 in a coming "cival" war sparked by rogue Dems congress people?

He might be better off getting a copy of the Constitution and a dictionary.
He searched, but couldn't find a copy of the Constitutan.
 

Tyrone Biggums

nfl meets tri-annually at a secret country mansion
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Aug 15, 2006
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Why am I not surprised hes a supporter of the most racist president of our time? Get this bigot out of the game. Time to hold the non players as accountable as the players.
 

Plympton91

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Oct 19, 2008
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Why am I not surprised hes a supporter of the most racist president of our time? Get this bigot out of the game. Time to hold the non players as accountable as the players.
Are we including the President who literally threw American citizens in concentration camps? Or the President who regularly dropped N-bombs in the Oval Office? Or are we just implicating the President who recently signed a prison reform bill that will overwhelmingly benefit racial minorities?

My take on Drake

1. People talking about civil wars need to placed in time out and sent to bed without dinner.

2. Twitter has to be among the worst inventions of all time.

3. Maybe in a world where 4 corporations have more money and power over peoples’ lives than at least 46 state governments do, we should start saying that any key civil rights that have been deemed to have been incorporated into state governments by the 14th amendment and related jurisprudence also apply equally to major corporations.

Given that MLB is a monopsony purchaser of highly specialized labor, I’d have a category of the law that put them and all the other sports leagues and similarly situated employers in it. If they are mandated to allow people to express themselves then the mob-rule that is the “public relations” problem of employees speaking their minds goes away Likewise the NBA would have to allow their employees to criticize murderous Ill-willed enemies of America no matter how many Lebron jerseys the unfortunate serfs living under that repressive regime purchase.
 
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Matty005

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The adage that nobody notices the ump if he's doing a good job is validated by those best/worst lists in my case - I'd only heard of one guy on the ten best list - while I knew everyone on the ten worst list.
I was quite surprised I didn't know many of the top 10 either. But if you look at it, most of them are within their first 5 years (and many much less). But still, very good point you bring up.
 

BroodsSexton

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Now, if you wanted to argue that MLB operates under color of law given its antitrust exemption, at least you’d get points for creativity....but you’d still fail.
3. Maybe in a world where 4 corporations have more money and power over peoples’ lives than at least 46 state governments do, we should start saying that any key civil rights that have been deemed to have been incorporated into state governments by the 14th amendment and related jurisprudence also apply equally to major corporations.

Given that MLB is a monopsony purchaser of highly specialized labor, I’d have a category of the law that put them and all the other sports leagues and similarly situated employers in it. If they are mandated to allow people to express themselves then the mob-rule that is the “public relations” problem of employees speaking their minds goes away Likewise the NBA would have to allow their employees to criticize murderous Ill-willed enemies of America no matter how many Lebron jerseys the unfortunate serfs living under that repressive regime purchase.
Well, I didn’t expect it to come from @Plympton91 but there ya go.

I have to say, though, I’m intrigued by your idea that Constitutional rights should be incorporated against large companies. That’s not exactly a small “c” conservative idea. Are you advocating for the end of at-will employment, with the imposition of due process rights, for example?
 

graignotcraig

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May 1, 2011
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The top 10 list- all umps under 40. The bottom 10 list- all umps over 50. The article talks about age and experience being (non)factors, but the first thought that came to my mind was how age and eyesight might be the issue. Young eyes see better than old eyes- maybe like young muscles fast-twitch better than old muscles.
 

Van Everyman

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My favorite part of this is that as a #MAGA nut, he is cowering behind the protection of the union. Which in my experience is typical of #MAGA nuts.
 

Plympton91

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Well, I didn’t expect it to come from @Plympton91 but there ya go.

I have to say, though, I’m intrigued by your idea that Constitutional rights should be incorporated against large companies. That’s not exactly a small “c” conservative idea. Are you advocating for the end of at-will employment, with the imposition of due process rights, for example?
That doesn’t seem like a logical extension to me, but I’m not a labor lawyer. Seems like State governments have nonunion and union employees governed similarly to the private sector. But, you point out that it wouldn’t be simple as simple as protecting someone’s right to be an idiot on their personal social media accounts. Worth deeper though.
 

InstaFace

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Sep 27, 2016
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What he did was inexcusable, but his apology was better than any one the Astros put out.
I don't know if it's "inexcusable". It was just words, it wasn't directed at anyone, it didn't hurt anyone. We may think those words are dumb, or that they reveal a startling, even willful ignorance of the context in this country, but on the totem pole of fuck-ups in the public eye, this is very close to the bottom.

His apology sounded sincere and if he means what he says about continuing to learn more and do more about gun violence, it'll end up a positive for him. Glad to see it.