Commentary: If you think this Aubrey Huff mess is about the First Amendment, youre as dumb as he is – Monmouth Daily Review Atlas
Twitter is a toilet bowl and so is Facebook.
The latest proof is the raging story of Aubrey Huff, the sadly misguided former San Francisco Giants player who got himself dumped from the invitation list of the team's commemoration of its 2010 World Series title. That party will be at Oracle Park in August.
Before he was a Twitter troll, Huff was the 2010 Giants first baseman who was not the biggest star on the team, but definitely a home run producer who got some big hits in the postseason and rode the wave of an unlikely title run that took everyone by surprise _ including the Giants themselves.
Sadly, Huff's life after baseball has devolved into a tweet storm of vulgarity and despicable musings that target people of color and especially women. He recently tweeted a picture of himself with a gun and this statement: "Getting my boys trained up on how to use a gun in the unlikely event @BernieSanders beats @realDonaldTrump in 2020."
Cool, huh?
Listen, I'm not going to promote his vile tweets. There are many others about women that are vile and indicate someone who probably needs help. You can find Huff's handiwork with ease, but the larger point is this: Huff and his fellow backward supporters like former pitcher Curt Schilling are making his exclusion from a 2010 celebration a First Amendment thing.
It's not and if you think it is, you are either ignorant on purpose or by accident about how free speech works. Neither type of ignorance is good.
One could make an argument that our country and democracy are in trouble because of a shocking lack of knowledge about civics, but let's stay on point. The First Amendment is protecting Huff right now. The government hasn't arrested him, detained him or questioned him about his stupid tweets. His right to be stupid, abusive, disgusting, unkind and bereft of humanity is not only preserved, its protected status is unquestioned.
Huff still routinely makes nasty comments about women, including Alyssa Nakken _ the former star athlete from Sacramento State and Woodland High School recently hired by the Giants to be a coach. She'll be the first woman on a big league coaching staff _ ever.
It was a great story that Huff was only too happy to trash on his Twitter feed. Again, he had the constitutional right to do that and nobody stood in the way.
But Huff doesn't have a constitutional right to attend what is essentially a private party thrown by a private business, just as the Giants get to invite whoever they want. They don't have to include someone they find objectionable.
The Giants said: "Aubrey has made multiple comments on social media that are unacceptable and run counter to the values of our organization. While we appreciate the many contributions that Aubrey made to the 2010 championship season, we stand by our decision."
Huff wants to make it about politics, but it's clear from the Giants statement that its not about politics, but common decency.
For whatever reason, Huff seems to lack common decency for people he views with contempt. But perhaps his most outlandish statement yet was this one in his interview with The Athletic: "If it wasn't for me, (the Giants) wouldn't be having a reunion."
OK, Huff had a really good year in 2010 with the Giants. He hit 26 home runs and drove in 86 runs. He hit a home run and drove in four runs in the 2010 World Series. Was he the MVP? No. Was he a solid contributor? Yes. Did the Giants win the World Series because of Huff? Come on, now. That's when we veer back into social media crazy land.
And that's where Huff lives now. He preens about his physique and what he expects in a woman. "She has to be hot," he tweets.
He pens stick figure drawings extolling President Donald Trump and brags when he sells them for $265. He says the Giants wouldn't have won the World Series without him.
OK, dude. You be you. But come August, this little tempest will have blown over. It will be forgotten and Huff won't be sharing the joy of the 2010 Giants title run because Huff doesn't know how to act like a human being around others.
His rights will be intact on that August day, but what a sad and self-defeating way to ruin your blessings and isolate yourself from the joy of brotherhood because you can't help but be a hateful ass.
- Takeaways from the Supreme Courts TikTok decision and what it may mean for the First Amendment - CNN - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Oral Argument in TikTok v. Garland: Does the First Amendment Apply, and How? - The Federalist Society - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- TikTok, HamHom, and the First Amendment - Reason - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Supreme Court weighs First Amendment rights and porn in Texas case - NPR - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- "Strong stand for the First Amendment": TikTok announces U.S. return after Trump promise to stay ban - Salon - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- FCCs Rosenworcel Takes Parting Swipe at Incoming Trump Administration Over First Amendment - TV Technology - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Upholding TikTok ban, Supreme Court attacks First Amendment ahead of Trump inauguration - WSWS - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Rand Paul Reacts to TikTok Ruling: 'Violation of the First Amendment' - Newsweek - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- Supreme Court Denies TikTok First Amendment Pass, Effectively Shuttering the Social Media Platform in the U.S. on Jan. 19 Unless Sold to Third Party -... - January 19th, 2025 [January 19th, 2025]
- "Satan loves the First Amendment" banner lawsuit allowed to proceed against Broward schools - CBS News - January 6th, 2025 [January 6th, 2025]
- Claim Against School Board That Refused to Display "Satan Loves the First Amendment" Banner Can Go Forward - Reason - January 6th, 2025 [January 6th, 2025]
- First Amendment gives way to national security: Countdown on for TikTok - Virginia Mercury - January 6th, 2025 [January 6th, 2025]
- Settlement puts Disneys business interests above First Amendment - Freedom of the Press Foundation - January 6th, 2025 [January 6th, 2025]
- Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Protect Tennessee Minors Act Over First Amendment Concerns - SValleyNow.com | Local News for Marion County and the... - January 6th, 2025 [January 6th, 2025]
- Sullivan and the Central Meaning of the First Amendment Lee Levine & Matthew Schafer - Law & Liberty - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Tennessee age verification law blocked from taking effect due to First Amendment concerns - WZTV - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- FIRE to SCOTUS: TikTok ban violates Americans' First Amendment rights - Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Ald. Jim Gardiner Agrees to Pay $157K to Settle Lawsuit Claiming He Violated First Amendment by Blocking Critics From Official Facebook Page - WTTW... - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- First Amendment the first casualty in Oklahoma school chiefs weird war on woke | Opinion - Wichita Eagle - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Donald Trump Asks Supreme Court to Delay TikTok Ban Over First Amendment Concerns - TheWrap - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- How Washington State Stifles the First Amendment for the Incarcerated - Solitary Watch - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- Opinion | Theres Still Time for the Senate to Support the First Amendment - The New York Times - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- First Amendment Censorship Claims Against Stanford Internet Observatory Can Go Forward to Discovery as to Jurisdiction and Standing - Reason - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- S. Ct. Will Hear First Amendment Challenge to TikTok Divestment on Jan. 10 - Reason - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- Counterpoint: Reporters shouldnt have more First Amendment rights than the rest of us - Citrus County Chronicle - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- Deal reached in First Amendment -Facebook lawsuit against Ald. Gardiner, as city agrees to pay some costs - Nadig Newspapers - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- Iowa Republicans are afraid of the First Amendment - Bleeding Heartland - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- TikTok Asks Supreme Court to Block Law Banning Its U.S. Operations - The New York Times - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- Supreme Court agrees to hear TikToks First Amendment challenge to U.S. ban if not sold - Spectrum News NY1 - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- Chris Hayes Says Trumps Media Lawsuits Are Meant to Open the Floodgates to Overturn Key First Amendment Rights | Video - Yahoo! Voices - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- Media on the run: A sign of things to come in Trump times? First Amendment News 451 - Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- KERC Approves First Amendment to Multi-Year Transmission, Distribution, and Retail Supply Tariff Regulations 2024 - SolarQuarter - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- Masked Protests and First Amendment Rights The Chickenman Case in Smyrna - Wgnsradio - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- First Amendment attorneys say Ohio bill aimed at curbing antisemitism may infringe on rights - 10TV - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- First Amendment warning: 100% chance of Ryan Walters tweeting - NonDoc - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- Chris Hayes Says Trump's Media Lawsuits Are Meant to 'Open the Floodgates' to Overturn Key First Amendment Rights | Video - TheWrap - December 18th, 2024 [December 18th, 2024]
- SJC expands First Amendment protection to true threats over the Internet, by text, and in person - The Boston Globe - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- OPINION: The First Amendment is the Biggest Story of the 2024 Presidential Election - Nevada Globe - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- First Amendment: Anathema or weapon? - Workers World - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- Justices Will Hear First Amendment Challenge to Denial of Tax Exemption for Catholic Charities - Law.com - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- The Press and The People Must Not Willingly Surrender First Amendment Rights to Trump - Daily Kos - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- La. TikTok creator says potential app ban infringes on First Amendment right - KPLC - December 14th, 2024 [December 14th, 2024]
- Opinion | The TikTok Ruling Is a Blow for the First Amendment and Free Speech - The New York Times - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- TikTok failed to save itself with the First Amendment - The Verge - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- Newsoms War on Political Speech: ADF Defends Rumble in the First Amendment Case - California Family Council - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- Opinion | The TikTok Sale and the First Amendment - The Wall Street Journal - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- Secret court hearing threatens the First Amendment and more - The Hill - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- President Trump lacks standing: CBS rubbishes lawsuit over Kamala Harris 60 Minutes interview as procedurally baseless and prohibited by the First... - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- Perspective: Colorado vs. the First Amendment - Colorado Springs Gazette - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- Annenberg Classroom Film on First Amendment Wins Anthem Award - The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- Trumps calls to investigate pollster put First Amendment at risk - Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- First Amendment Likely Protects Referring Patients for Out-of-State Abortions - Reason - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- Trumps FBI director pick Kash Patel: A clear and present danger to freedom of the press First Amendment News 449 - Foundation for Individual Rights... - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- Federal judge tosses First Amendment retaliation claim in Gibbs lawsuit - News From The States - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- Litigation: First Amendment rights violated by Cabarrus County - The Courier=Times - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Lee C. Bollinger on the First Amendment, Free Speech, Affirmative Action, and More - Columbia University - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- 'Free Speech Was Given to Us by God': Why the First Amendment Is in Danger Like Never Before - CBN.com - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- The Impact of The First Amendment: Essays on the Imperative of Intellectual Freedom - New Ideal - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Journal of Free Speech Law: "The Press Clause: The Forgotten First Amendment," - Reason - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Kansas nurse Elaine Gebhardt claims First Amendment protection in state board probe of her social media posts - The Sentinel - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Thomas pushed to overrule Kagans order in COVID-related First Amendment case where RFK Jr. serves as co-counsel - Law & Crime - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Counterpoint: Reporters shouldnt have more First Amendment rights than the rest of us - TribLIVE - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Trump Resumes His Endless War Against the First Amendment - The New Republic - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Anti-porn lawyers ready to profit from a Kansas age-gating law that may violate the First Amendment - Kansas City Pitch - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Its the First Amendment, stupid. Judge tells Florida to stop threatening TV stations - The Daily News Online - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- Californias deepfake ban cant fool the deep protections of the First Amendment - The Hill - October 14th, 2024 [October 14th, 2024]
- Florida health department defies First Amendment, threatens to prosecute TV stations for airing abortion rights ad - Foundation for Individual Rights... - October 14th, 2024 [October 14th, 2024]
- Hands Off The ConstitutionNever Mess With The First Amendment - Forbes - October 14th, 2024 [October 14th, 2024]
- TikTok v. Garland Oral Argument: Did TikTok Admit It Doesnt Have First Amendment Rights? - The Federalist Society - October 14th, 2024 [October 14th, 2024]
- Balancing First Amendment Rights and Youth Protection | Age and Access in the Social Media Era - R Street - October 14th, 2024 [October 14th, 2024]
- Are we not all Americans living by our first amendment? - TAPinto.net - October 14th, 2024 [October 14th, 2024]
- 476. Words, Actions, and Liberty: Tara Smith Decodes the First Amendment - Skeptic Magazine - October 14th, 2024 [October 14th, 2024]
- Council approves a nine-day clean zone for the Super Bowl. A First Amendment lawyer says its excessive. - WWNO - October 14th, 2024 [October 14th, 2024]
- Newsoms anti-satire law tries to kill the joke and the First Amendment - The San Diego Union-Tribune - October 14th, 2024 [October 14th, 2024]
- A Sign Of The Times: Bourne Bylaw Change Off STM Warrant Amid First Amendment Concerns - CapeNews.net - October 14th, 2024 [October 14th, 2024]
- Banned Books Week? Try First Amendment Week instead - Thomas B. Fordham Institute - October 7th, 2024 [October 7th, 2024]
- Stephens City mayor addresses heated exchange with First Amendment auditor - Northern Virginia Daily - October 7th, 2024 [October 7th, 2024]
- What the US Supreme Courts next term holds for the First Amendment - Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press - October 7th, 2024 [October 7th, 2024]
- John Kerry Says First Amendment Is Major Block to Stopping Disinformation, Hopes to Implement Change to That - CBN.com - October 7th, 2024 [October 7th, 2024]
- Can AI regulation survive the First Amendment? - Platformer - October 7th, 2024 [October 7th, 2024]