Paul Shirley- Right or Wrong?

ESPN Cuts Ties With Paul Shirley Over Controversial Haiti Remarks323
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1/27/2010 10:30 AM ET By Mark Hasty

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Mark Hasty
Mark Hasty is an NCAA Football Blogger for FanHouse
Paul Shirley, the globe-trotting journeyman basketball player, has attracted much attention over the years for his considerable writing skills. Not all attention is good attention, of course.

On Tuesday, Shirley wrote a blog post for FlipCollective in which he suggested that donating money to Haitian relief efforts was not a good idea. In his post, he also implied that victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina were at least partially to blame for their situations.

Shirley anticipated that his comments would be controversial, openly questioning whether he was a "monster" for expressing the opinion he expressed. I don't know if his opinion makes him a monster, but one thing is for sure: It just made him a former contributor to ESPN.com.

In a statement released this morning (reproduced here in its entirety), ESPN said of Shirley, "He was a part-time freelance contributor. The views he expressed on another's site of course do not at all reflect our company's views on the Haiti relief efforts. He will no longer contribute to ESPN."

Paul Shirley is, of course, free to hold and express any opinion he wishes without fear of governmental retribution. The Constitution guarantees him that right. Freedom of speech does not exempt him (or anyone else) from being criticized for any and all opinions he may express. ESPN was well within its rights to disassociate itself from him over his comments.

People inclined to blame Shirley's dismissal on "political correctness" would be well advised to read his post carefully and consider the logical implications of what he suggests. He doesn't seem to think New Orleans ought to be rebuilt, since it could get hit by a hurricane again. He doesn't seem to think people should be allowed to live on the coasts of Thailand and Sri Lanka, since there might be another tsunami. What he suggests for Haiti and Africa is even more extreme. Defending Paul Shirley's right to self-expression is easy. Defending his opinions, which amount to "starve the poor so they don't make babies," is a little more difficult.

It seems that "the rest of the world" he invoked in his open letter to Haiti has also expressed its opinion -- not universally, of course, but loudly enough that ESPN couldn't ignore it.
Read More: ESPN Sports Media Backporch Features Paul+Shirley

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Comments (Page 1 of 17)
andybmmtrans 1-27-2010 11:22AM
His comments are almost communist! I do not support them! But @ least his comments aren't in the closet, like most people. i.e. Rush Limbaugh(racist). You know who you are out there!

reply
PYK MASTER 1-27-2010 12:16PM
The true racists are the policy makers that enslave the poor with ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS!! And THAT is socialism...which is almost communism. Funny how you "progressives" have social reality backwards.


knight4449 1-27-2010 12:40PM
Its just throwing good money away. I feel for them but, its a repeat of history. This will make the Third time in my life that we have sent hundreds of millions to them and for what. We are not the world babysitter. We have enough problems at home that we don't need to worry about rest of the wold. Fix our house first then worry about everyone else.


darcal360 1-27-2010 1:03PM
Are you guys serious?!? You sound like a bunch of heartless conservative who care about nobody but themselves! Put yourself in their situation... imagine if nobody came to help you and simply watched you die... Or if a family member of yours lived in Haiti or anywhere else a natural disaster struck? How much to you think the US is donating? It's chump change what we've promised them.


tranquilbeachbum 1-27-2010 1:17PM
Why is that the Dominican Republic is doing fine and Haiti is not?


Janet 1-27-2010 1:25PM
Andy, What the hell do you know about Communism?


joeinbost 1-27-2010 1:37PM
Haiti was bled dry by the French form the 1820 until 1947 Read History and you might learn something. Domincan republic had a peaceful road to Nationhood the Spanish left. haiti had to fight for their Freedom and unfortunatally their First ruler was a Mad man and spent them in to Debt


wahine1960 1-27-2010 1:38PM
there is nothing communistic about that idiot's comments at all. they are pure evil.


ecoplasticlum 1-27-2010 1:59PM
We are not the UN. We all feel bad for Haiti but our own country is falling apart and our own people need help, where is it? Every time the USA helps bail out another country they end up hating us.


ramongolden 1-27-2010 2:25PM
First of all darcal360 no family of mine would be in Haiti. Second, I am damn tired of running to Haiti's aid every time they have a runny nose. We do not expect other countries to run to our aid when ever we stub our toe, why does the rest of the world call for our help whenever they stub theirs. Pull yourself up by your bloodied boot straps and get to work. Stop waiting for the good ol' U.S.of A. to bail your pathetic ass out.


haledav 1-27-2010 2:32PM
The reference to Limbaugh is very inciteful. He is undoubtably a registered conservative. He and others of his ilk are the "me" generation of our times. The good news for him is he will never need a heart transplant ... he never had one to begin with. Rush, Hannity, O'Rielly, Beck ... they are all the same. I know them very well ... I grew up around similar Irish familes as theirs. There were two kinds of Irish, Kennedy Irish and the Hannity/O'Rielly kind, the types that sat around the kitchen table commenting on other races in a negative way. They ARE entitled to their opinions .. so was Hitler. But it doesn't make it acceptable to the rest of us who value the entire human race.


sundevilpoolsinc 1-27-2010 2:53PM
I liked his comments and, like Charles Barkley, is only the truth and what noone else wants to say...Good for him!


KC 1-27-2010 3:09PM
His comments couldn't be less communist...which tells me you couldn't be more ignorant. Right or wrong, living in a country with free speech means sometimes you get offended. For example, you're an idiot.


Eric 1-27-2010 3:11PM
He's right, poor families havinig babies, no effort to improve quality of life. They are partly to blame, There's so much going on in our country that nobody is raising 58 million dollars for. It's seems like people go out of there way to help everyone except those at home.


hhijena 1-27-2010 3:18PM
I believe in free speech, Freedom of the press and the other freedoms we're supposed to have. I don't agree with him but he has the right to say it as ESPN has the right to not use him again. Political correctness, tend to stiffle free speech in the name of morality, etc. However, compassion isn't forcible and his lack might have cost him his job. As for Rush, there's no justification for him, whatsoever.


timmnkc 1-27-2010 3:22PM
We are not rebuilding Haiti, we are BUILDING Haiti.


Mike Lopera 1-27-2010 3:27PM
oh but I'm sure you like Obama who is a socialist and well that shares ideas from Communism.

Anyways this just shows that people can't except the hard truth. However I do not agree with his quote on Haiti. It isn't there fault. however I did agree with his Katrina quote because it was there felt. I mean when a category 5 hurricane is coming towards you and you are urged to leave then well you deserve to die. Why should we value your life if you value a home more than your life? There are exceptions to my argument and that is simply the elderly. It isn't there fault. They couldn't leave, plus the idea of valuing there homes more than their lives make more sense. they lived a good life in a house for 40 years and they feel that they've lived there life to the fullest and would rather die in there own home as a sense of closure But for the people who were 20 or 30 yrs of age are just plain crazy and I had and still don't have any sympathy for them.


tkgreeley 1-27-2010 3:58PM
I agree with knight4449. With all the current contributions they have more money in that country than it's worth. I'm sorry for them but when my house
was mostly destroyed during the Northridge quake nobody came running
to me with millions of dollars for the taking!!!!!!! I had to fight
and fight and fight just to get my insurance to cover the claim...80%
anyway, the rest came out of MY pocket!!!! So no heart-felt guilt
here!!!



BeanerECMO 1-27-2010 3:59PM
PYK MASTER 1-27-2010 12:16PM has it correct. It is the administrations of these poor countries that has really put their citizens in harm's way. After the US had put ~$2B into Haiti foreign Aid, Aristide saw fit to leave with ~$300M. Yes, relief to the people, not their governments, should be given. But, afterwards, will they have the will to rise up and take their destiny in their own hands, or has their initiative been sucked out of them by just relying on the State for their future (social welfare collectivism)?


mrbugs01 1-27-2010 4:57PM
His comments wwere honest and dead on right. You can't take the last car off the train and unfortunately these countries have had billions poured into them ever since I was a very small child. I can remember my mother getting mail encouraging her to send money to Haiti and Africa. It has done little to no good. My donation will go to help my local food bank instead of being sent to a bottomless pit. We have Americans who are starving and homeless too and I'm going to help at home.