A Whataburger employee found herself in hot water after allegedly disrespecting and refusing to provide service to two police officers in Denison. Whataburger decided to fire the worker.
The restaurant chain was within its legal rights to let the employee go, even though some say she should be protected by the first amendment.
“There is free speech, but it’s not protected free speech because she was employed by a private employer” says Alicia Voltmer, an attorney with the Lillard Wise Szygenda law firm.
So if Whataburger has the right to fire this employee, does an NFL team have the right to fire a player who refuses to stand for the National Anthem? Voltmer says it depend on the players' union agreement.
“The NFL is subject to a union contract and the players are subject to a union contact. And if the contract says you can’t make a certain kind of statement, then the league can fire them for that” says Voltmer.
Voltmer says those agreements specify player conduct rules