A Study In Contrasts: Tim Tebow vs. Michael Sam

I have always been impressed by Tebow’s affability, and his refusal to play the tit-for-tat game that modern media insists upon. I have no idea whether Tebow is good enough to play in the NFL…he certainly has the drive and the perseverance, though his football skills may be unsuited for the NFL. But Tebow blames no one for his situation, even though one could argue that the media circus over his religiosity has damaged his possibilities.

Michael Sam: I’d Still Be In the NFL if I Hadn’t Come Out

Ah….a 6’2″, 260 lb. Social Justice WarriorTM. I wonder whether Sam realizes that NFL teams gleefully employ murderers, strong-arm robbers, drug dealers, drunk drivers, wife beaters (did I miss anything?) and other assorted delights. In fact, the only thing they don’t like is the conservative and religious values of Tim Tebow! If Michael Sam were good enough to play in the NFL, he would be playing in the NFL. That he couldn’t cut it in the Canadian Football League is a powerful argument that he just isn’t good enough! After all, Canada is an enlightened, modern country, without America’s irrational hatred of homosexuals. Oh, wait, didn’t the NFL bend over backwards to get Sam a shot? And didn’t he get another shot even after he showed rather persuasively that he did not have the skills to make an NFL roster?

It must be the insidious homophobia of the NFL and the media that destroyed his career.

 

13 comments to “A Study In Contrasts: Tim Tebow vs. Michael Sam”
  1. One of the reasons I used to like sports was its “innocence.” You could enjoy baseball, football and the rest without having to hear a single damn athlete (or commentator, comes to that) bleating about Social Justice, equality for all, religion, etc., etc., etc. Big-time sports people didn’t play that.

    In fact, the basic premise of all professional sports was INequality. One dude was better than the rest — at least on that particular day — so he won. No trophies for “participating.”

    Hard to reconcile that with the current need to use sports to make a point. Or, for that matter, the craze for making everyone Feel Good because There Are No Winners.

    If that’s going to be the rule, sports are out the window. You can’t have a game without winners and losers; it becomes a pathetic “exhibition.”

    In short, CBD, I say: a pox on both Michael Sam and Tim Tebow. If coaches don’t think they can hack it, that’s their problem, and it has nothing to do with Christianity or sexual orientation.

  2. A pox on Tebow for being nice about things?
    A pox on Tebow for saying Thank you?

    Or more likely.

    A pox on Tebow for being a Christian in public?

  3. I have no experience in Being a Christian in Public — I have no experience in being a Christian anywhere — but in sports I consider it a distraction, as I would if Tebow was a Jew, Zoroastrian or Buddhist.

    My belief is that Tebow’s religion neither adds to or distracts from whatever talent he has as a football player. IMO, it’s unnecessary to bring it into sports at all, just as it is both pointless and, ultimately, tiring to hear some people claim Michael Sam should get Special Snowflake status because he’s light in the loafers.

    I realize it’s not Politically Correct on a religious level to ask a Real Christian to tone it down, but I would find it equally tiresome if he whipped out his prayer wheel or sacrificed a chicken after every successful play.

  4. I was a big fan, Phoenixgirl. I know he refused to pitch on Jewish holy days (don’t remember specifically which ones) but I don’t recall him making a fuss about it beyond the basic, simple refusal. Nor do I recall him making any overt references to his religion at other times. He mainly went out and threw a baseball with considerable skill, which is what he was well-paid to do.

    In fact, I don’t recall seeing much about Koufax at all, except at Dodger games (where I was lucky enough to have seen him fairly often). He was IIRC, rather shy and somewhat reticent off the field, traits I recommend to all pro athletes.

  5. Please point out where Tebow demanded any kind of special treatment because he is a Christian. Please show where Tebow said where he was cut because he is a Christian.

    I beg to differ with you. Part of the reason this Country is in the sorry shape it is in is because Christian and Jews have been browbeat into believing that public displays of faith are unseemly.

  6. Obviously, I disagree with you, Tim. If you met me in person, you would have no inkling of my religion. I don’t flash the Decoder Ring, employ the Secret Handshake, wear religion-themed clothes or jewelry or loudly (not even quietly) profess my faith. That’s my business, and I prefer to keep it that way.

    People keeping their own religions in perspective plays no part in the country’s decline. People who loudly profess their faith — whatever it is — do add to our problems by appearing at times to insist on special treatment. Which is a privilege that, in many cases, they do not extend to members of other religions.

    I do not, for example, object in the slightest to public Nativity displays at Christmas time. But I assure you I would object if I was FORCED to tolerate them.

    And, by the way, I never wrote that Tebow “claimed to be cut because he was a Christian” or that he demanded special treatment. It is Real Christians who have done both on his behalf, and I find that unseemly as well, because it simply ain’t true.

    Not that I expect those who are upset by my comments to understand that. To borrow a wonderful phrase from Terry Southern’s “Candy” (and turn it around a bit, as it was written about a Jew, Dr Irving Krankeit — born Irving Semite): you goyim are “as jumpy as an eyeball.”

  7. I live in what would be considered the “home media venue” for Sam when he played at Mizzou.
    At best I remember him being a strong college player, but no one talked up his NFL chances much beyond “he’ll probably get drafted” until he came out of the closet.

    Even then his skills were still a secondary discussion.
    I’ve come to think he knew this, and figured he’d better his chances by being able to cry foul when he didn’t get drafted.

  8. There are thousands — maybe millions — who fit into that category, tsrblke. My high schools had some standout football players; the only one I saw after graduation wound up with a gig as a sales rep for a vending-machine company.

    I would imagine (but don’t know for sure) it’s a bit of a blow to the ego to find out that you’re really not the next Bart Starr or Roger Staubach. You might not even be the next third-string bench-sitter for a semi-pro team.

    But the reason is almost invariably being less skilled than the guys who make the Bigs, and that’s just the way it is. Deal with it, and move on. As Frank Sinatra so memorably sang, “That’s life….”

  9. “In short, CBD, I say: a pox on both Michael Sam and Tim Tebow.”

    Your words not mine.

    You wished a disease, physical harm on both people. The question remains, Why.

    Because Sam Played the “I’m a special Snowflake” Card? Because Tebow did exactly what for you to wish a disease, physical harm, on him.

    Just because some Christians and Jews pray in public, do dress in their customary clothing,
    this causes you distress?

    Those that insist on special treatment are the ones who deserve it the least. It would appear that you are demanding special treatment by suggesting that you should have the right to not be offended by having to witness any public display of Faith. Are you claiming “Special Snowflake” Status for yourself?

    We need more public displays of Faith by Christians and Jews. Not less.

  10. Pingback: GayPatriot » Michael Sam Cannot Accept That He Just Isn’t As Good As People Who Don’t Like Football Think He Is

  11. Just want to remind everyone that Tebow has a winning record as a starter in the NFL and a playoff win against one of the better defenses in the league. The knock against him publicly is that his mechanics aren’t good. Ok. Hell of a lot of starters without that winning record and 0 playoff wins.
    To me that smells of an underlying issue that someone doesn’t want to say in public.

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