Hank Jones PoliSports

Lately, calls for boycotts seem to come on a weekly basis. Whether it be a coffee chain, sporting goods store, fast-food restaurant, or a transportation concern, boycotting is a way to air greivances, or change a behavior or process that "wrongs" part or all of society. But, are they effective? Are they ethical?

While it would be hard to argue against the stand Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, that was also a municipal/governmental issue. There was a law on the books regarding seating on public transportation, and Rosa Parks showed, through civil disobedience, that it was wrong to force people of color to relinquish simple human rights on such a basis.

But what about calls to boycott companies? Is it effective when it happens? Is it ethical to call for a boycott of a private company that doesn't rely on public monies to operate? Or, is it right, conversely, to force companies to sell goods or perform services (or a combination of both) against core values? Is it right to send someone away? And is it right to use law, government, and administrative "power" to force a person or company to act counter to those beliefs?  

In the sports realm, there is another NFL running back refusing to honor the later part of his contract to play for the team that drafted him. Does a contract not mean anything? Are the players wrong, are the owners too greedy and unfeeling, or are both sides being manipulated by agents and lawyers with no regard for the game itself?