Matthew Bellamy, the man who bravely wore a LeBron James Miami Heat Jersey to a Cleveland Indians game only to get escorted out and allegedly berated by police, is now a first amendment martyr. And Cleveland fans absolutely hate the very Constitution of this fine country, at least according to nationally syndicated columnist David Sirota.
Bellamy dared to wear LeBron's Heat jersey to the Indians game at Cleveland's Progressive Field, and after being taunted for it started pointing to it, of course, only to elicit more jeers. Police promptly escorted him and his girlfriend out of the stadium, and, he claims, even called him an asshole.
"Remember that Progressive Field is not some private club -- the taxpayer subsidies that built the stadium effectively make it a public space, ostensibly subjecting it to the Constitution," writes Sirota. "Also remember that police officers, as taxpayer-funded instruments of state power, are sworn to uphold that Constitution -- and specifically, the First Amendment's requirement that the state refrain from 'abridging the freedom of speech.' And remember, too, that Bellamy's jersey didn't run afoul of the few court-authorized exemptions from the First Amendment -- it didn't, say, violate obscenity statutes or endorse violence."
Sirota than laments American's perceived loss of respect for the first amendment even as more and more crow about upholding the constitution, and, of course, somehow ties Bellamy's incident in with what he sees as the evils of the Bush administration (he's a liberal columnist, if you couldn't tell). He then mention Bellamy's anger about being kicked out before ending with, "His anger is warranted. Our silence and cheers speak volumes."
All we have to add is why do you hate America so much Cleveland, hmmmm?
[Salon: America's stadium-mob mentality: One man's constitutional rights are trampled, and thousands of fans cheer]
