Gene Simmons has thoughts about Washington’s NFL team, Donald Sterling

Did you know that Gene Simmons -- he of Kiss and rocking and rolling all night and partying every day -- owns an Arena Football team called the LA Kiss? It’s true! They have terrifying ads and Kiss-themed jerseys and playing surface!

Anyway, because he owns a sports team, it is his turn to talk about sports owners, and... OH NO, HE’S GOING TO TALK ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES:

“As a Jew, I wouldn’t be thrilled as ‘The Kikes,’” Simmons said. “And if you’re black, you wouldn’t be thrilled with a football team called ‘The Blacks.’ I could use a worse word. Because ‘Redskins’ was what the white man called them. So I understand if you’re a sports fan and if you’re white, you go ‘Hey, what’s the problem? We have a long history.’ But if you’re an Indian, think about it. White dudes don’t have to worry about that stuff because [they] were always the majority in imperialist countries of the world. ”

Hey, that’s actually a perfectly reasoned take about why Washington’s football team should not have a racial slur as their team name. The fact that a football team has existed for a long time with an offensive term as a team name doesn’t justify the continuation of that team using an offensive term as a team name.

We’re sorry, Gene. Even though we don’t know you, we underestimated you and your ability to make cogent, rational points about a contrvoersial social issu-

(Donald Sterling) was ambushed,.. I think he should have done penance and paid a fine. Here’s what’s going to happen. They’re going to go after Sterling and he’s going to put a few million dollars out there, because he can afford it - and he’s going to ask the paparazzi out there to find videos of all the other team members talking trash and racist rants. And then it’s open season.

And if, because you say an off-color joke or make a racist rant privately, that causes you to lose a job - nobody would have a job,” he continued. “Black people do it, Jews do it, Christians do it - everybody does it. It’s called America. Free speech. Even if free speech insults other people.”

In case you’re not a constitutional expert*, let’s revisit the concept of free speech. You can say pretty much whatever you want without interference from the government! Free speech protects your right to say whatever racist stuff you want without facing any sort of prosecution! However, the government doesn’t guarantee that people won’t react to the racist stuff you said. The government can’t guarantee that you won’t get fired for doing stuff, because they can’t restrict your boss’s right to, you know, free speech.

In this case, the NBA voted as an organization that they didn’t want Donald Sterling around anymore, as their by-laws allowed, and Sterling sued, as it was his right to do, and his free speech was never, ever violated. Good talk, Gene!

So let’s review Gene’s stance: Racism is bad, but if you do it when nobody is listening, that’s cool. Good to know.

* -- “constitutional expert” = “a person who has a vague understanding of the First Amendment”