Free speech for thee, but not for me? You be the judge.

The Colin Kaepernick story has been well covered ever since he started his benchwarming career as a backup quarterback, and decided that it was a perfect time to start some social justice “activism” while keeping that bench warm.

It became the movement du jour, and now everybody is doing it… though they may not know quite why. It’s become like wearing an AIDS ribbon to an awards show in the 1990’s. All the cool people are virtue signalling!

And then the police shooting in Charlotte started a riot and looting. Enter Seattle Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger into the story.

Baseball player for the @Mariners, Steve Clevenger (@Clev_45) had this to say about BLM protestors. pic.twitter.com/4VRllnbvp0

— X (@XLNB) September 23, 2016

The statement that the team put out initially boded no well for Clevenger, who was already on the disabled list with a broken hand, and out for the rest of the regular season.

Statement from Jerry Dipoto, Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations on Tweets from catcher Steve Clevenger. pic.twitter.com/1xWk6dy5ap

— Mariners (@Mariners) September 23, 2016

Now, I am not sure what clauses are written into a MLB contract regarding social media, or what protections the baseball players’ union affords their members in regards to situations like this, but the end result was Clevenger’s suspension (despite his inability to play anyway) for the rest of the season. His future in the Mariners organization is a giant question mark as a result.

Statement from Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto on the suspension of Steve Clevenger. pic.twitter.com/mgpQITiBy0

— Mariners (@Mariners) September 23, 2016

Clevenger himself has apologized as well. He has also put his Twitter account into “protected” mode so his tweets are no longer viewable by the public.

I know that the gut level reaction is to compare the treatment of Kaepernick and Clevenger and declare that there is a double standard. But as a diehard Mariners fan who loathes the 49ers, I can honestly say… no. I don’t feel like this is a case of a double standard. Kaepernick and Clevenger are both free to express their own opinions without any fear of reprisal from the government. That is all the First Amendment guarantees. The First Amendment does not, however, protect you from the consequences of your speech. For an example of how this works, remember the case of Professor Melissa Click, who learned the hard way that speech and actions have consequences when it comes to your private employer. Kaepernick took a risk when it came to adequately judging what his employer (the 49ers and the NFL) would allow regarding his speech and actions, and it worked out well for him. (Yes, it worked out well for him because the NFL is busy virtue signalling about their own social justice priorities.) Clevenger, on the other hand, should have known exactly what would happen if he tweeted out anything that could be considered remotely inflammatory. Why should he have known that? Because his boss, General Manager Jerry Dipoto, has been quite clear about what he expects from his players on social media, and gave a talk to that effect just last week.

I’m sorry, no one who watches Dipoto talk about how they have passed on signing players with questionable or controversial social media practices should be in any way surprised that Clevenger has been suspended for the rest of the season without pay. The Mariners made it clear that they want happy, non-controversial social media outreach from their players and staff. When the boss tells you what he wants, and then you do the exact opposite, what on earth do you think will happen?

Now, you can argue that the culture has become too politically correct. You can argue that professional sports needs to shut up about social justice and just play the game they are paid to play. You can argue that players are role models and need to stand up for good things to set a good example.

None of that changes the fact that Steve Clevenger, whether you agree with his sentiments or not, broke the rules that were laid out by his boss. To my knowledge, no one on the Mariners’ roster or staff has tweeted anything in regard to Charlotte or Black Lives Matter – at least nothing that would contrast against Clevenger. Dipoto, therefore, has enforced his team rules about social media fairly. The 49ers have allowed Kaepernick to do what he wants from his bench. They haven’t insisted that the whole team take a knee as well. So, in their way, they are also letting whatever rules are in place be enforced fairly. Kaepernick sits on his butt or kneels, others stand for the anthem, and the team remains neutral.

The only double standard in play is the cultural one, which praises Kaepernick for warming a bench for social justice, and vilifies Clevenger for his poorly composed tweets. But neither man is being deprived of their First Amendment rights, because the government has not stopped either of them. The consequences – or lack thereof – from that speech are coming directly from their employers. And like it or not, it is well within the Mariners’ rights to suspend Clevenger, while the 49ers slobber all over Kaepernick’s bench.