NFL team have stood up to Twitter trolls who objected to the Patriots’ stadium displaying an electronic version of the rainbow flag for Pride Month.The team Wednesday tweeted a photo of the display at Gillette Stadium near Boston, and it was met with some hateful comments.
Commenters wondered if the Patriots would hold a “straight month,” said the team should “stick to football,” and reported they were renouncing their fandom.
Some got even worse. The Patriots reminded Twitter users, “Our comment section is monitored and there is no room for hate.” One person said that means the team doesn’t support freedom of speech.
But freedom of speech is not absolute. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars governments from limiting or penalizing speech, but there are exceptions to that.