Shaq Thompson's interview cut off by Panther PR

[stirs]

What was every other Panthers senior essay topic?

[SCP]

While the issue itself is extremely important to discuss and rectify, I prefer to keep those things I choose for entertainment free of political and/or religious controversy. I go to Panthers.com, the games, the practices, etc. to be entertained and escape the real world garbage for awhile.

[section543]

Agree, and not just that, but many people, myself included, completed school work at the university level that was nothing but liberal BS that was either pointless or that we may not have even agreed with.  It's a check mark/box that in many cases simply must be marked off in life.  He's young and went to school in the extremely liberal Pacific NW.  He's now a PANTHER and that and that alone is what matters.

Agree. He may have done the essay because is professor mandated it because it was the professor's agenda, not Shaq's. College rarely produces original thought these days.

[Ja Rhule]

Neither are many questions asked and topics covered in interviews.  If he was discussing helping children with cancer nobody would say things like this.

Police brutality is a very touchy subject and one wrong comment can make him an ass of the ESPN for months.  PR people are there to make sure this won't happen.

[PhillyB]

While the issue itself is extremely important to discuss and rectify, I prefer to keep those things I choose for entertainment free of political and/or religious controversy. I go to Panthers.com, the games, the practices, etc. to be entertained and escape the real world garbage for awhile.

​i agree with everyone defending the panthers org on this. i think you have to slam that door shut. god knows i didn't have anything intelligent to say when i was 22; why should shaq be expected to be the political voice of a billion-dollar franchise?

however, though i wouldn't want to see annoying political bullshit dividing the otherwise kickass experience of NFL fanhood either, it's been brought up that panthers games aren't free of political or religious controversy, since troop support movements, nationalist pledges, and invocations are innately political and religious and they are interwoven throughout the experience of the NFL fan. the reason they aren't controversial is because they are normalized.

uncomfortable politics (like police brutality) are what we hate, not politics. i don't think the panthers should endorse individual employees spouting political opinions on a public microphone, but i think this is still an interesting insight into how institutions maintain control of the status quo.

[PhillyB]

Agree. He may have done the essay because is professor mandated it because it was the professor's agenda, not Shaq's. College rarely produces original thought these days.

​lol

[Chaos]

Too bad he was cut short, I always enjoy a good kerfuffle. #phillybvocab

[PhillyB]

Too bad he was cut short, I always enjoy a good kerfuffle. #phillybvocab

​for years i thought it was kerfluffle, with an L, and found out today i've been misspelling it for two decades.

[Wundrbread33]

Enough with this conspiracy BS. Police brutality gets too much coverage as it is. 

[Growl]

​It's not a football team's job to be addressing it at all.

The problem we have in our society today is everybody thinks that everybody else needs to come forward and show which "side" they're on, so they can be applauded for being "progressive" or "courageous" if it's the popular trend or "evil" if it isn't. 

 

It's a ridiculous notion that a football team should feel any sense of responsibility to comment on things that are completely irrelevant to them. Their responsibility is to win football games.

[TN05]

​lol

It's quite telling that you are railing against 'institutions' that we need to combat, but are literally laughing at the idea liberal college professors might require writing on liberal topics. I guess since colleges are liberal we don't need to combat them.

[PntherPryd]

The problem we have in our society today is everybody thinks that everybody else needs to come forward and show which "side" they're on, so they can be applauded for being "progressive" or "courageous" if it's the popular trend or "evil" if it isn't. 

 

It's a ridiculous notion that a football team should feel any sense of responsibility to comment on things that are completely irrelevant to them. Their responsibility is to win football games.

​If their sole responsibility is to win football games then why sign Braylon Beam to a one day coaching contract?

It is not as simple as "just win baby".  The Panthers, better than other teams post-Hardy, know they have to set and maintain high standards both on and off the field.  Some people don't want to talk about certain subjects and that's fine.  It keeps PR guys employed.   But that shouldn't stop the questions from being asked (in general, I know it was a douche move in this instance)

 

 

[CatMan72]

As a rookie and a representative of his organization I'm glad someone prevented him from being put on the spot to answer a question like that. If he has an opinion he'd like to express he has his own platform to do that... should be on company time especially as a new employee.

[CatMan72]

As a rookie and a representative of his organization I'm glad someone prevented him from being put on the spot to answer a question like that. If he has an opinion he'd like to express he has his own platform to do that... should be on company time especially as a new employee.

Meant to say shouldn't but the app wouldn't let me save my edit.