Does Freedom of Tweet Extend past Morality Clauses?

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One of the great things about social networking is that anyone can say what they want without fear of censorship… Well, in theory, at least. But according to Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall, that’s not always true in the real world, and he’s filed a lawsuit to protect free speech in 140 character chunks.

Mendenhall is suing Hanesbrands, Inc. after the company terminated his endorsement deal following a series of tweets about Osama Bin Laden in which he asked “What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side.”

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The company alleged that the tweets fell foul of a morality clause in the contract, but Mendenhall’s lawsuit disagrees, explaining that the case centers around “the core question of whether an athlete employed as a celebrity endorser loses the right to express opinions simply because the company whose products he endorses might disagree with some (but not all) of these opinions.”

The freedom to tweet or Facebook without fear is becoming an increasingly common matter these days (consider the Associated Press guidelines) so it’ll be interesting to see how this case turns out, and whether social media will become more and more restricted for anyone who wants to say what they think.

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Graeme McMillan is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @Graemem or on Facebook at Facebook/Graeme.McMillan. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.