Yesterday, after Roseanne Barr tweeted a racist statement about former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, comparing her to an ape, ABC cancelled the comedian's newly rebooted sitcom, Roseanne. In the wake of that announcement, many took to social media to preemptively scold those on the Right who might criticize the network's decision, even though those same commentators supported the NFL's recent decision to prohibit silent protest before football games. "For mad conservatives who feel like Roseanne should be able to tweet what she wants and keep her show 'because: first amendment'..." wrote journalist Jarrett Hill. "Where were you when Black men wanted to be able to take a knee and not be reprimanded for it by the NFL?"

So how should we think about the similarities and differences between the NFL's decision to forbid football players to kneel during the National Anthem and ABC's decision to cancel the show Roseanne because of Roseanne Barr's racist tweet? Are the free speech issues in these two situations the same or different?

The first thing to make clear is that neither of these incidents raises a First Amendment issue. The guarantees of the Constitution, including the "freedom of speech," limit only the government. They do not limit private individuals or institutions. Thus, although the federal government, the state of Pennsylvania, and the city of Chicago can violate the First Amendment, neither the NFL nor ABC can do so.

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