The Tim Tebow Kerfuffle

Several days ago, I mentioned the Tim Tebow Kerfuffle in passing.  At that time the news was still new and the story hadn't yet gotten out of hand.  Now it has.  The National Organization for Women (NOW) has officially called his forthcoming pro-life Super Bowl ad "extraordinarily offensive and demeaning."  Umm...did I mention that the ad has not yet been released?  To anyone?  Including NOW?

We are given a couple hints as to what is in the video.  Focus on the Family says the theme of the ad is "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life".  That is pretty offensive.

Tebow has come under fire from members of the sports media as well.  Both Doug Gottlieb and Tim Keown (both of ESPN) have been critical of Tebow's alignment of himself with James Dobson.

Well, I thought I would pass along an article that puts the Tebow issue in excellent perspective (tip o' the hat to Southern Appeal for the story).  This article is written by a fairly well-known sportswriter named Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post.  Ms. Jenkins is both pro-choice and a feminist...and she wholeheartedly supports the Tebow ad.  One highlight:


        "As statements at Super Bowls go, I prefer the idea of Tebow's pro-life ad to, say, Jim McMahon dropping his pants, as the former Chicago Bears quarterback once did in response to a question. We're always harping on athletes to be more responsible and engaged in the issues of their day, and less concerned with just cashing checks. It therefore seems more than a little hypocritical to insist on it only if it means criticizing sneaker companies, and to stifle them when they take a stance that might make us uncomfortable.
         I'm pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I've heard in the past week, I'll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the "National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All The Time." For one thing, Tebow seems smarter than they do.
        Tebow's 30-second ad hasn't even run yet, but it already has provoked "The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us" to reveal something important about themselves: They aren't actually "pro-choice" so much as they are pro-abortion. Pam Tebow has a genuine pro-choice story to tell. She got pregnant in 1987, post-Roe v. Wade, and while on a Christian mission in the Philippines, she contracted a tropical ailment. Doctors advised her the pregnancy could be dangerous, but she exercised her freedom of choice and now, 20-some years later, the outcome of that choice is her beauteous Heisman Trophy winner son, a chaste, proselytizing evangelical."


And that isn't all.  I highly recommend reading this if you have 5 minutes on your hands.  Here is the link to the rest of the article.  Read it.  It's good.


Oh, and by the way - let's not pretend that this is the first time famous athletes have chimed in on the topic of abortion.  Have a look at this video from 1989:




Believe it or not, there is actually a whole organization for professional athletes (mostly former) that count themselves as pro-life called Life Athletes.  Here are some of the notables:

Steve Largent, Rebecca Lobo, Don Beebe, Wellington Mara (RIP), Curtis Martin, Kevin Mawae, Derrick Brooks, Mark Brunell, Matt Millen, Gary Carter, Trot Nixon, Trent Dilfer, Dan Reeves, Tony Dungy, Joe Gibbs, A.C. Green, Jason Hanson, Phil Simms, Mike Singletary, Brent Jones, Justin Tuck, David Tyree, Jon Kitna, Herschel Walker, Reggie White (RIP), Steve Wisniewski