davewalker.org Blog

Pop Quiz: Citizens are outraged at ____________ because of a new law allowing domestic wiretaps.

Hmmm, George Bush?

Nope.

Robert Mugabe.

Yeah, there’s a guy you want to be sharing policy ideas with. Is Al-qaeda threatening Zimbabwe too?

I’m all for people suing under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If an employer cans you because of a handicap or disease, without even trying to accommodate you in the least way, I say “go for it”.

But if you get fired from your multi-million dollar contract with a professional sports franchise because you blow a second or third chance at not using drugs, then I think perhaps we’ve stretched the meaning of ‘disability’ past the point where it has any meaning.

But, it is clearly against the law, under the ADA, to fire someone because of their status as an alcoholic. I just have a hard time reconciling “protecting the disabled” and “not being able to fire a professional athlete for violating league drug/alcohol policy”.

This kind of case really creates a lot of cognitive dissonance for me. I understand addiction, believe you me; yet I understand why the NBA feels the need to keep its athletes clean and sober. My conservative and liberal sides start to get all testy with each other in this type of fact pattern.

I suppose the key is the difference between A) firing someone for cause, due to something they did under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and, B) fring someone merely for being an alcoholic. If all Mr. Tarpley did was show alcohol in his system, as opposed to, say, trashing a hotel room or plowing his car into a group of autograph seekers, then perhaps he has a point.

I dunno. I’m interested in hearing what others have to say on this topic.

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