Suppose Steve Clevenger Had Taken a Knee

I think it's a bunch of rubbish that Seattle Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger has been suspended without pay for the rest of the season because he doesn't espouse liberal views.

Clevenger sent out two tweets concerning the rioting in Charlotte when a black man was shot to death by a black police officer:

“Black people beating whites when a thug got shot holding a gun by a black officer haha (expletive) cracks me up! Keep kneeling for the anthem!

“BLM (Black Lives Matter) is pathetic again! Obama you are pathetic once again! Everyone should be locked behind bars like animals!”

Now one can make the case that Clevenger's tweets were crude and the argument has also been made that his tweet is racist because he described the protesters, er, rioters as "animals". However, the rioters weren't exclusively black and, whatever their skin color, they were behaving in a less than humane way.

Honestly though I think what got Clevenger in trouble was his criticism of President Obama and Black Lives Matter. Let's put it this way. If Clevenger had tweeted in support of Obama, Black Lives Matter or had chosen to take a knee during the national anthem he would still be on the Mariners' roster.

Chances are Clevenger has played his last big league game. Clevenger, who previously played with the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles, has been branded a racist. Under the circumstances what MLB club would touch him even if he would cost them relatively little money as a backup catcher? At this rate, Clevenger will be lucky if he can play in the Frontier League. That is where free speech will go to die.