I get that.

But it sure seems as though those consequences or calls for consequences have not just edged up on freedom of late. They've swamped it, be it an athlete who says the wrong thing, a broadcaster who chooses the wrong words, or a magazine editor who creates the wrong image.

And that includes the aftermath of Rick Majerus' giving voice at a recent political rally in suburban St. Louis for Hillary Clinton to what was banging around inside his head about being pro-choice on abortion and favoring stem-cell research in the pursuit of aiding those in need.

The former University of Utah and current St. Louis University basketball coach was asked for his views on those subjects, and he gave them, earnestly and honestly.

Uh-oh.

St. Louis is a Jesuit school and the Archbishop of St. Louis, Raymond Burke, had a major problem with Majerus' pronounced personal views because they conflicted with the positions of the Catholic Church. He called for school administrators to put unspecified disciplinary actions upon the coach.

". . . I just believe that it's of the essence for people to understand as a Catholic you just cannot hold those beliefs," Burke said.

I do not have a copy of Majerus' contract with SLU, so I don't know what it says about such an issue.

What I do know is that the coach, who is Catholic, was giving his personal opinions about political topics he had considered and to which he had come to his own conclusions.

He was not criticizing the Catholic Church. He was not criticizing its leaders. He was not criticizing its positions.

He was merely being candid about his own views.

More and more in our society, taking common stances with employers and institutions, and, in some cases, the greater society as a whole, is becoming an absolute requirement for gaining acceptance and favor, for not suffering harsh and often unnecessary repercussions settled upon just because a person in power or a majority of the public said so.

Some compare such a statement from Majerus with an employee of, say, Ford openly bad-mouthing the F-150 pickup. But the coach didn't badmouth anything. It is more the equivalent of that Ford employee driving a Toyota.

Big deal.

What is Majerus supposed to do when he is asked such a question?

Lie? Would that be better?

Would it be better for him to be a hypocrite, to believe one thing and completely dodge the issue or pretend to believe something else in public to suit the wishes of his superiors? Would it be preferable for him to simply chicken out and not give any voice to what his own thoughts are in order to stay in monolithic step with people who exert power over him?

That's a dangerous notion: Get in line with us or get out.

Again, the distinction between having a dissenting view on a single matter and publicly, comprehensively flaying authorities for their collective official positions is worthy of note.

Blurring it chills those who should not be chilled. It paralyzes those who should not be paralyzed.

Over the past 25 years, for every one outrageously outspoken athlete I've encountered, there have been five others who have been too frightened to speak openly about matters truly significant to them on account of concerns regarding how they would be received.

That's sad.

Freedom of speech, exercised honestly, might cost them standing with fans. It might cost them with management. It might cost them endorsements.

What often results is a kind of whitewashing of reality, a prevailing flavor in sports that will not budge past vanilla, a fraud hoisted upon a public that, some presume, would never abide raw authenticity from its sports figures.

So, they live in a box.

Happy to profit off society's love affair with sports; unhappy to be burdened by its limited parameters of what's acceptable to think and say and what's not.

That's a broader issue than Majerus' upsetting a church leader or a private employer who wants him to disingenuously hold the company line, when what he wants to do is coach basketball and be true to himself. What's the real harm in allowing him to do that, as long as it doesn't include ridiculous behavior toward those over whom he has immediate stewardship, namely his players?

Consequences will always shadow the freedom to speak. Let's just hope they don't narrow it into an ever-diminishing slice of privilege, surrounded by larger portions of political correctness, censorship, and oppression.

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* GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 1280 AM The Zone. He can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com.