The 2009 Cyclones will accept this for the same reason players who
have disagreed with Rudy (9, 11, a noun and a verb)or Bush have had
to stand silently rather than prostesting their mixing of sports &
politics. It is not an endorsement because he is not a candidate for
another 4 years. My contract is different from theirs, so I don't
have a dress code. They have to accept it, just like they have to
accept the cammo jerseys & hats(and I purchased one of each for my
youngest son - he loves them). For 8 years I have listened to lies
and watched my constitution stepped on (and there are a lot of
conservatives like Bruce Fein who agree with me on that one). For one
night you can accept this (or not). In the end, this decision is out
of our hands, so let's try to live & let live.


--- In brooklyncyclones2@yahoogroups.com, "orangetilapia"
<rbrigantic@...> wrote:
>
> As a long-time ticket plan holder (since the 1st season), I
> registered a loud protest at this. And I am still so angry I might
> reluctantly boycott the season.
>
> Usually politics at the ballpark is left to things like having an
> elected official throw out a first ball or some recognition not
> involving the actual game presentation. If the Cyclones wanted to
> do something pre-game to acknowledge the election of America's
first
> African American president (Jackie Robinson, after all, did break
> baseball's color barrier in Brooklyn) I could have lived with that
> even though I did not vote for Mr. Obama and will probably not
> support much of what he proposes to do over the next four years.
>
> But this promotion has a real nastiness to it. People named McCain
> or Palin are "banished" to the bleachers. Ha, ha. Very funny.
And
> there is an "exit strategy" where you get a flag when leaving the
> ballpark. So the message is it's patriotic to "get out" - but out
> of what? Iraq? Afghanistan? These are questions that a sports
> team has no business pushing on its patrons.
>
> And the decision to put Obama's name right on the uniform? Well,
> what if one or more of these young players doesn't like Obama and
> doesn't want to be a walking billboard for him? Can they speak
up?
> Of course not, not if they want to remain in the Mets' employ. And
> as I pointed out to the Cyclones, it is unlawful for an employer in
> the State of New York to adopt a "dress code" which forces an
> employee to endorse a particular elected official or political
> party. That violates New York's Labor Law, the NYC and New York
> State Human Rights Law and the constitutional rights of employees
to
> free speech and association.
>
> For those of you who support this promotion, how would you feel if
> you showed up for work one day and your employer forced you to wear
> a t-shirt, a button or a hat endorsing a particular elected
official
> or political viewpoint that you don't like and don't support?
> Wouldn't you be a bit angry? You certainly wouldn't say, oh, it's
> just for fun, ha ha. How would you have reacted if
> after 9/11 the Cyclones played in uniforms scripted the "Bushlyn
> Cyclones" to show support for George Bush? That would have been
> equally appalling. And most of you who like
> this "Baracklyn" promotion would have been -- correctly -- crying
> foul. (Remember Larry Brooks and Al Trautwig who both went
> ballistic just because Ed Snider asked Sarah Palin to drop a first
> puck at a Flyers game.)
>
> And Jeff Wilpon's reaction really put me off. After getting some
> criticism, he told the Post maybe we'll just have a whole Obama
> week. Now I know I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but
> isn't the first rule of good business that you don't intentionally
> set out to piss off a significant number of your own customers?
>
> As far as I know, no professional sports team at any level has
> actually changed its name - even for one day - to that of an
elected
> official. (Correct me if I'm wrong on that.) But to me this is a
> real big break with tradition and way over the line.
>
> And what's to stop another team from using its players to openly
> promote other elected officials or political causes? What's to
stop
> a team from "renaming" itself for an elected official just before a
> primary or an election? That's pretty good advertising, huh? Lots
> of eyeballs seeing the politician's name for two or more hours.
> Indeed, doesn't this current promotion constitute a political
> contribution in kind to Mr. Obama's ongoing fundraising activities
> that - depending on the assessed value of the advertising - might
> require reporting?
>
> All in all, this is just one horrendous mess. And it can't just be
> waved off as a "fun" promo like superheroes and frisbee chasing
> dogs.
>
>
>
> --- In brooklyncyclones2@yahoogroups.com, "dspecoraro"
> <dspecoraro@> wrote:
> >
> > Trying to say that there has been some wall between politics and
> sports
> > ignores reality - especially the reality of the last 8 years.
> > Whether it was the lies over the friendly-fire death of Pat
> Tillman or
> > the false patriotism of the Yanks & SI playing God Bless America
> after
> > 9/11 when they did not do it before then, or even the Olympic
> Games,
> > politics has been part of sports in general and baseball in
> particular.
> > Our team honors baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson as one of it's
> retired
> > numbers. It is fitting that for one day we celebrate the hope
that
> we
> > have been waiting for during the 8 year long nightmare that ends
> > Tuesday. It is a fun bi-partisan promotion that gave a laugh to
my
> > staff members. We'll be there - I hope you will too. And for
those
> who
> > don't want the bobblehead, I am sure I can find a good home for
it.
> > By the way, I liked the Parrot-head Night Jerseys - they are the
> jersey
> > my son & I wear to KeySpan most often + they work on Hawaiian
> shirt
> > days at school.
> >
>