Perhaps freedom of speech is a more arcane concept than it first seems. Isn’t it an exercise in free speech for Penrith winger Brian To’o to go ballistic on his Instagram account at his club’s end-of-season presentation?
Isn’t the father of Lleyton Hewitt railing against the sanctioning of his son for manhandling a doping control volunteer freedom of speech? Glynn Hewitt can say all he wants, and I’d defend his right to do so. But I would also suggest it wise for Hewitt Snr to consider the decision of the sanctioning panel, chaired by Michael Heron KC – who is a former Solicitor-General of New Zealand, not Dennis Denuto.
Anyway, the much-vaunted “right to free speech” isn’t a Willy Wonka golden ticket that allows anyone to say anything, anywhere, with impunity. Instead, the “right” to say what you want is enshrined in the idea that government officials are legally barred from suppressing views the government itself doesn’t agree with.
The right to free speech does not confer upon Jimmy Kimmel the latitude to front his eponymous TV show and say whatever he wants about whomever he chooses. Defamation laws also operate as a curtailer.
[SRC] https://www.smh.com.au/sport/i-disapprove-of-james-graham-s-attack-on-ashley-klein-but-i-ll-defend-his-right-to-spray-it-20250925-p5mxzb.html
