The Hollywood lefty thought he could take to the streets against his country and suffer no public backlash. He was wrong.
Last week, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., withdrew an invitation to the C-list actor and his live-in partner, Susan Sarandon, to appear at an event marking the 15th anniversary of the film Bull Durham.
Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey was concerned, rightfully so, that the activist couple would use the event as a backdrop to criticize the war and bash the nation's commander in chief.
"Mr. Robbins and Ms. Sarandon have every right to express their opinions," he stated. "But the Baseball Hall of Fame is not the proper venue for highly charged political expressions, whatever they may be."
Robbins threw a hissy fit. How dare Petroskey disinvite him and Sarandon just because of their antiwar activism. It was an affront to the couple's "constitutionally guaranteed rights."
Well, sure, the First Amendment guarantees Robbins the right to free speech, to hate his country and its duly elected president. But the Constitution hardly immunizes Robbins from the consequences of his free speech. Since he chose publicly to oppose the war