The NFL Player, the Schoolchild, and the Entertainer: When the Term "Free Speech" is Too Freely Spoken, Exactly "Who's On First?"

As America’s media and politicians continue to debate the free speech rights of NFL players, schoolchildren, and entertainers, the dialogue has confused many Americans as to what exactly the First Amendment protects. Chief Justice John G. Roberts ultimately assumes the role of an umpire in many of these issues, guiding the United States Supreme Court to incrementally “call balls and strikes.” In recent years, the Court has umpired employment rights and state action cases, and Roberts’s calls will likely further distance the Court that decided Morse v. Frederick from the one that decided Tinker v. Des Moines. Amid a flurry of misleading headlines and confusing free speech doctrines, many Americans simply wonder, when the umpire calls, who’s on first?