Fayetteville high school history teacher Lee Francis is suspended for 10 days without pay for stomping on the U.S. flag during a lesson on First Amendment rights
Lee Francis teaches history and civics at Massey Hill Classical High School in Fayetteville, N.C. Recently, as part of a lesson on First Amendment rights, Francis took a U.S. flag and stomped on it.
The flag stomping outraged many members of the community. Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Dr. Frank Till announced Friday that Francis was being disciplined for inappropriate conduct.
On Wednesday, Francis told ABC 11that he had been suspended for 10 days without pay. He explained he was just trying to teach his students about their First Amendment rights when he stomped on a flag in his history class. He emphasized: "I have the utmost respect for our men and women in the military. I have the utmost respect for the symbols that makes this country great. I also have respect for the laws and rights and privileges that people need to know they have."
I believe the suspension meted out to Lee Francis was adequate. It served to illustrate that an employer can discipline his employee – Kaepernick is an employee of the 49ers and the NFL – for disrespecting the flag on the job, even though the Supreme Court has ruled that burning the flag is protected speech under the First Amendment.
I might add the students also learned that free speech can have consequences.
Now compare the swift and harsh discipline dished out to Francis by the school superintendent to the NFL’s response to Kaepernick’s public misconduct. Instead of suspending Colin Kaepernick for telling the media that the police are “murderers” and for refusing to stand during the playing of the national anthem, his coach and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell praised the spoiled asshole.
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