Apparel company dumps Mendenhall over bin Laden tweets

Apparel company dumps Mendenhall over bin Laden tweets

sports.yahoo.com

While we respect Mr. Mendenhall's right to express sincere thoughts regarding potentially controversial topics, we no longer believe that Mr. Mendenhall can appropriately represent Champion and we have notified Mr. Mendenhall that we are ending our business relationship.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
sports.espn.go.com
www.reuters.com

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Steelers Rashard Mendenhall questions 9/11 and Osama death celebrations

I never heard of Mendenhall before and i might not like him now but I got a lot of respect for him. Champion on the other hand, I got no respect for the company. Mendenhall is willing to risk his endorsement and his public image for what he believes is the truth. He risked his endorsement and his public image to try Americans to THINK. How often do professional athletes do THAT?? Apparently an NFL star asking Americans to THINK is too much for Champion, who would rather have an ignorant spokesperson for an ignorant population. Why? So Champion doesn't draw negative attention to itself because of controversial quotes by its spokesperson.

If you go to the link and read the whole statement you'll see some inconsistencies in Champion's public statement.

I find it ironic that in an effort to divert attention away from the company they said their name "Champion" 7 times in 6 sentences. Now I have no doubt that CHAMPION is a proud supporter of our armed forces and dedicated to the war on terror. And because I am dumb, I believe this statement is saying Mendenhall is NOT a supporter of our armed forces or the war on terror. In fact, Mendenhall himself may be a terrorist and that is why Champion can't have him as a spokesperson.

No, at no times did Mendenhall say he didn't support the armed forces, and at no time did he say he didn't support the war on terror. He just said we can't believe everything the government tells us because the government has a history of deception and lies.

sports.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Fascist censorship by the militant corporate government of the most egregious kind.

Hopefully people have the good sense to boycott this company now, and won't tolerate this kind of corporate intrusion on the sanctity of free speech.

Already being discussed here.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


wtf you talking about it is there company they get to choose who represents it. lol
Thats not fascism ...

Just goes to show how corporatism and corruption to money have infiltrated the deepest reaches of Western society.
Censorship isn't what it used to be either. It used to be that it happened and nobody spoke of it. Now when censorship is used, the PTB try to validate its usage and do so openly.

I don't understand why it is hard for so many people to see through the huge curtain of bullsh!t and come to the conclusion that powerful corporations are the thing that are destroying the very fabric of our existence.

S&F


IT--

Live In Pittsburgh, been hearing about this non stop. As of a few hours ago I took all the Champion apparel I have (which wasn't a lot but still ) and threw it in the trash. I couldn't agree more with the OP just how ludicrous they're press statement was and with every Football hating bone in my body am praising Rashard for speaking his mind tastefully and asking us all to think.

Funny how everyone wants athletes to be role models and spokespeople and to promote positive things such as thinking but when some one does it contrary to their T&C its a huge no no. This makes me very aggravated

Stand Tall Rashard

Trowa

reply to post by Wang Tang


Good for that young man.

I know I will be boycotting their products. And not because I agree with everything he said. I just dont want to support corporations who think they have the right, in America, to curtail free speech.

Champion can kiss it.

Originally posted by GroundZero
Already being discussed here.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I ran a search and didn't find your thread and it has been closed because of some confusion with it being a repeat of another thread started 3 days ago...

the old thread was about what Mendenhall said, and it was in the 911 conspiracies forum

the link you listed was breaking news that Champion DROPPED Mendenhall and WAS started before mine but was closed because it was "the same" as the thread from 3 days ago.

My thread IS the same topic as your thread that got closed.

Oh, and for those so inclined, it only takes a second to send Champion a rant about the Constitution, free speech, and how they are undermining both,

www.championusa.com...

I know I did.

And the general American populace today views people that question Osama's death as unpatriotic. Americans group together Mendenhall with people like Castro and Islamic extremists who have also questioned Osama's death.

This is from an article from another topic on ATS on Castro's message on Osama's death.

Osama bin Laden killing was 'abhorrent', says CastroCuban president criticises US for shooting unarmed al-Qaida leader in front of his family and predicts a backlash


Fidel Castro has accused the US of executing Osama bin Laden, violating Pakistani law and desecrating Muslim burial tradition in an "abhorrent" operation.

Killing the unarmed al-Qaida leader in front of his family and burying the body at sea would multiply "hatred and revenge" against the US rather than make it safer, said Cuba's former president.

"Whatever the actions attributed to him, the assassination of an unarmed human being while surrounded by his own relatives is something abhorrent," Castro wrote in a column published on Thursday in the communist party newspaper Granma.

"Obama has no way to conceal that Osama was executed in front of his children and wives, who are now under the custody of the authorities of Pakistan … whose laws have been violated, its national dignity offended and its religious traditions desecrated."

Castro's comments put him in company with Hamas and other Islamic groups that have criticised the killing.

The problem is obvious. Blind patriotism. Ignorance. You SHOULD be patriotic because the government has told us news that we SHOULD think is good. Don't consider the possibility that the government is playing with us. Don't question the government.

As someone from the military I can tell you that there were enormous celebrations here. Anyone here that questions Osama's death is immediately labeled as unpatriotic. Am I being unpatriotic? I'm voluntarily serving in the military for god's sake, and I'm asking questions as all military personell should. The last thing we want is an army full of mindless robots who take any order they are given without consulting their morals.

reply to post by Wang Tang


i guess i wont be buying any of there products either,i wouldnt buy them because mendenhaul or anybody shilling for them although why should i buy from an american company at odds with free speech?

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
Oh, and for those so inclined, it only takes a second to send Champion a rant about the Constitution, free speech, and how they are undermining both,

www.championusa.com...

I know I did.

And they may send you one back explaining that freedom of speech is not something companies have to guarantee you.. In fact, them firing him IS FREEDOM OF SPEECH!

The last thing we want is an army full of mindless robots who take any order they are given without consulting their morals.

That's exactly what the government wants.

By the way Champions is owned by the Sara Lee Corporation

Originally posted by HunkaHunka

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
Oh, and for those so inclined, it only takes a second to send Champion a rant about the Constitution, free speech, and how they are undermining both,

www.championusa.com...

I know I did.

And they may send you one back explaining that freedom of speech is not something companies have to guarantee you.. In fact, them firing him IS FREEDOM OF SPEECH!

Only if his firing is a political statement, would it constitute as speach.

There is no way to get around that, and further, now that we know Sara Lee owns the company, a company that has agricultural interests and lots of lots of subsidies from the US Government as all corporations do, most of whom pay no taxes either by the way, we can see where government pressure can in fact be brought to bear behind the scenes on corporations who's US Treasury Checks for their subsidies that tax payers get to pay for, might end up lost in the mail.

Meanwhile it sends a strong message to celebrities to keep your mouths shut and toe the government line.

So no, my friend, it's not about freedom of speech its about intimidating people who have a platform not to speak freely.

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


You basically just said everything I was struggling to say with this thread. Right on.

I wonder, in the eyes of the general populace, who is getting the better positive image? My roomate called Mendenhall a "faggot" but another friend said he was right to question Osama's death because the story about the raid has been inconsistent and changing every day.

Hopefully, as the story on the raid keeps changing and exposing the lies that the government told ...
-helicopter malfunction and subsequent crash was actually a result of the walls being too high
-Osama was originally firing using a woman as a human shield but it turns out he was unarmed
-New, secret helicopter was used so Pakistani army was not alerted, turns out Pakistan was helping out all along.

Hopefully people will realize Mendenhall was right to publicly question our government. UNFORTUNATELY, the media and Champion has spun this story so they make it seem like Mendenhall was criticizing our armed forces and our war on terror.

i will boycott them...
kx

Alright any one still reading this thread, just go to the yahoo article and look at the comments, and look at the likes and dislikes ratio for the comments. Disappointing to say the least. Here's an example.

14 users liked this comment 7 users disliked this comment
Clyde Torres 14 minutes ago
Mendenhall thinks that because he can run a football it entitles him to spout his opinions freely.
Because of 'Free Speech' he has that right.....but Champion also has the right to fire him.
I think he's another overpaid azzclown and dumb to boot.

3 users liked this comment 11 users disliked this comment
John H 11 minutes ago
I won't be buying anything made by "champion." Traitors they are for doing as so many other sheep do, not research what he says, u dismiss it without critical thought or research. Typical sheepness in this country. Nothing he said has anything to do with the military. It does have to do with controlled demolition in the towers and them falling at near freefall speed. Never in the history of steel skyscrapers has a tower fell to fires, til Sept 11th, when THREE fell. WAKE UP. Watch Loose Change Final Cut. Also check out Architects and Engineers for 911.

Two relatively extreme opinions. One is applauded. One is "hidden from user's view due to low rating."

Now you see what the general opinion is. See for yourselfMendenhall Article

Originally posted by HunkaHunka


And they may send you one back explaining that freedom of speech is not something companies have to guarantee you.. In fact, them firing him IS FREEDOM OF SPEECH!

Good for them. We wont even get into the argument of corporate personhood and how that fallacy is being pushed through the courts, but I will say that they, as a corporation, are obliged to maximize profit. And if enough Americans tell them they disapprove of their treatment of the young man and their infringements upon HIS rights, and will refuse to patronize them in light of it, they WILL change their tune.

Just like corporations have been changing their tune on issues like "being green" and "giving back to the community" and being "socially responsible." They can send me anything they want. Corporations exist because WE the actual people of the US, buy from them. And while we dont get a vote on their board of directors, we vote every single time we purchase or decline to purchase from them. And every single time we spread positive or negative word of mouth about them.

So what really is your point?