Quick and Simple Action: Support Rashard Mendenhall and Vote for Free Speech
grumpy brian Sun, 05/15/2011 - 12:35pm
A poll has been conducted and is still available for voting at USA Today. The vote is concerning Rashard Mendenhall's loss of his corporate sponsor Champion apparel after his remarks about Bin Laden and 9/11.
The vote results right now will make you cringe, and we need to impact the results:
- 68% think Rashard's sponsor dropping him was the right thing to do.
- 18% Think Champion should not have dropped him, and allowed him to speak his mind freely.
- 14% Dont care.
Will you help me bump up that 18%? CLICK HERE to vote.
After the killing of Bin Laden, NFL running back Rashard Mendenhall posted a Tweet to his fans saying this:
What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side...
He went on further to say this about the demolition os the WTC buildings:
“We’ll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style.
The poll is here:
- grumpy brian's blog
- Login to post comments
Scary.
And the world gets more Orwellian by the day.
68% vote against free speech.
That's the most scary part indeed...
People voting Against free speech, for Pete's sake. And like SC wrote, if this wasn't about a sponsorthing, the numbers would've been roughly the same.
One wonders what's going on here? Where's this gonna go?
When I wrote this, this
When I wrote this, this morning, a total of 14,042 people had voted.
Right now, the tally is 14,085.
The percentage points have not changed because there are so many voters.
It would be great to see those poll numbers turn!!!!!
Forward the link and info! Its easy!
Numbers are changing
Numbers are changing slowly:
67% Dont support Rashard/ Speech
19% Do support Rashard / Speech
13% Dont care
14,209 votes.
66% Don't support Rashard 20%
66% Don't support Rashard
20% Support Rashard
13% Dont care
14,443 votes.
64% Don't support
64% Don't support Rashard
23% Support Rashard
13% Don't care
14,890 votes.
We impacted the survey with a 10% change in results. (2 other blogs besides 9/11 Blogger helped)
Here's another easy action you can do..
Support a 9/11 Truth movement advocate and tell them why..
http://www.whitehouse.gov/citizensmedal
I just voted
in favor of free speech, but I'm not sure any of that can be expected to apply to sponsor contracts. I could tell my sponsor to go fuck themselves on Twitter, or....I could say Jesus doesn't exist, or Obama is Hitler...but that doesn't mean they are Constitutionally bound to keep paying me for it.
You are absolutely right
You are absolutely right about applying to sponsor contracts.
But it is a shame to see only 18% favor Rashard speaking his mind, especially when he is so on point and reasonable.
This is merely symbolic of supporting him, as well as letting USA Today know that people do care.
Thanks for your vote.
NP; Cynically
I have no doubt whatsoever that if this wasn't about a sponsor contract, the numbers would be roughly the same.
non representative sample
There are numerous reasons why a poll like this is meaningless. None the less, I voted.
Thats why if It took more
Thats why if It took more than one minute for anyone to vote, I wouldn't have bothered (probably) posting this or asking for help.
But my heart suffers a little when I see tlittle things like that. How sweet would it be if we were able to turn that poll totally backwards; 68% supporting Rashard. The butterfly effects of those events may be small, or not: I would feel better, USA today may raise an eyebrow, Rashard might feel better hearing about that kind of turn around, others may feel more comftorable speaking their mind.....and so on.
But I hear you, and I thank you for your vote.
Voted, but...
... would it be more effective to somehow let the sponsor know that many people will no longer "endorse" it?
Champion Contact Information...
To Contact Customer Service
Phone Toll Free 1-800-662-6048
Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. – Midnight Eastern Time
Saturday: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Eastern Time
Email: http://www.championusa.com/Champion/Marketing/EmailCustomerService.aspx
For those who want to show Rashard support via Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/R_Mendenhall
Thanks
Let's start giving them some feedback.
Someone might even think about initiating a boycott campaign.
Message I got back from Champion...
Dear [Orangutan.],
Thank you for contacting us regarding Champion's decision to end its marketing relationship with Rashard Mendenhall. We appreciate your letting us know your views opposing this decision. It was not an easy decision to make, but we believe it was the correct one for the benefit of our brand, which is our primary responsibility. While we respect freedom of expression, we are very clear and upfront with our business partners that our celebrity and sports endorsers need to represent our brand under the terms of their contracts and in a manner so that they can effectively communicate to consumers who may hold a wide spectrum of opinions and views on controversial topics. We have found Mr. Mendenhall to be a sincere and conscientious young athlete, but we strongly disagreed with many of his views on Osama bin Laden and the tragedy of September 11 and felt the controversial nature of his remarks would continue to be detrimental to Champion. We are sorry that you disagree with our decision, but we respect your right to do so.
Sincerely,
Theresa Baldwin
Consumer Care Specialist
Fair enough. Thanks for your
Fair enough.
Thanks for your efforts O.
Another poll of public opinion...
On May 4th Rashard Mendenhall had 13,631 followers on Twitter.
On May 19th Rashard Mendenhall has over 48,200 followers.
That should tell you something.
Hopefully some of the other more aware professional athletes will show him some support.