How often have you heard the phrase Academic Freedom used to avoid scrutiny and influence when it comes to teaching. Without going into the history of the original intent, a current view can be found in Encyclopedia Britannica:
There are many ways to phrase this, but this paragraph seems to capture today’s interpretation.
There are some interesting tidbits in this definition: without unreasonable interference or restriction, without control, and professionally appropriate. The issue comes down to what is unreasonable, control, and professional. Let’s consider these tidbits. An academic does not have 100% freedom or control. Academics are not entitled to do anything they want, how they want. An academic does not have the freedom to be unprofessional.