Nothing irritates Main Street more than insinuations of disrespect toward the flag and the national anthem. They are the enduring symbols of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in securing the freedoms we treasure.

But isn’t defending all forms of free speech – even those that make your blood boil – the true test of those liberties?

Josh Howard ticked off a lot of people. A recently released cell phone video captured the Dallas Mavericks’ star brazenly disrespecting the national anthem during a celebrity charity flag football game in Washington, D.C.

“‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is going on right now,” Howard says on the video. “I don’t even celebrate that (expletive). I’m black.”

There also was an indiscernible comment Howard made regarding Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama followed by another expletive.

The Mavericks insist they knew of Howard’s actions soon after it occurred in July and dealt with the matter internally.

But that explanation doesn’t satisfy those who are seething over someone who has extravagantly capitalized on the American Dream. Howard acted like an ungrateful idiot. But if the NBA bows to pressure and censures Howard for his comments, then the league is guilty of a more egregious sin of disrespect than Howard’s loose mouth.

There cannot be a unilateral decision squelching free speech simply because we don’t like what we’re hearing.

There was a group of black sports writers in 1994 who objected to the presence of the Georgia state flag at Super Bowl XXVIII in Atlanta because it bore the image of the Confederate flag. During the national anthem, some writers either remained seated or stood and turned away. It wasn’t a slap at this country but an appreciative nod to its liberties.

Howard’s free to act a fool.

We’re free to disapprove. We’re free to boo every step he takes on the basketball court next season. We’re free to boycott his endorsement partners. We’re free to never buy another ticket to a Mavericks game. We’re free to construct the biggest bonfire imaginable from Howard’s jerseys. We’re free to build a tangible mass of public protest that turns discontent into a business matter rather than a social commentary.

And there lies the responsibility of freedom – the will of the people should always be greater than the power of one authoritative figure.

The NBA crossed the line three years ago when it implemented a mandatory players dress code. It was a blatant suppression of free expression. It reeked of hypocrisy because it was an official indictment of the hip-hop culture that the NBA nonetheless courted from a business standpoint.

But it also was a path toward pacifying the more conservative corporate philosophy that questioned its investment in grown men walking around with ball caps skewed sideways on their heads and wearing pants practically falling off their butts.

And the players didn’t care about the double standard.

Just keep signing the checks. Nothing else mattered.

Howard doesn’t get it. If he did, he would get on his knees and praise the heavens that the Bill of Rights doesn’t penalize stupidity.