Man fired for Facebook post that brought on racist comments

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Have you heard about the man who was fired from his marketing firm for racist comments posted on his Facebook page?  "Names like Toby and Kunta Kinte," as Sydney Sheldon explains those are just a couple of the insults hurled at 3-year-old Cayden.  It started after Gerod Roth took a selfie with a co-worker's toddler son, Cayden.  He then made it his Facebook profile picture and the racist comments began pouring in, such as, 'I didn't know you were a slave owner', 'help feed this poor child', 'but massuh I dindu nuffin' and Roth posted a comment 'He was feral' after someone asks 'Dude where the (blank) did you get a black kid'.

"I really feel upset, not only with myself, but also with the character that was based off the comments my friends made.  I feel as if poor Cayden himself has been victimized but also myself" explains Gerod Roth in a TV interview.

Roth was fired from the Atlanta marketing firm he worked for and nearly everyone who made ugly comments on the Facebook post was terminated from their place of employment.  The mother of little Cayden says she's thankful they were.

"I do everything that I can that he never has to want or need for anything and to see people bashing him, grown people, it breaks my heart" cries Cayden's mom Sydney Sheldon but some argue the comments don't have anything to do with how well the workers perform their job.  They also ask it your first amendment right to say what you want?

"It's your bosses first amendment right to fire you if he doesn't like what you say," says University of Houston Communications Professor Garth Jowett.  

Professor Jowett says it doesn't matter how well you perform your job, if your company feels you are a poor representation you can be terminated.

"If you work for a company and you say something on-line which the company feels is demeaning to the company or to the image of the company, your free speech rights do not stop them from firing you" Jowett explains. 

Jowett says there have been a number of lawsuits from workers fired for what they post on-line and they argue it's their constitutional right and the professor says those terminated workers usually lose.