MSNBC Gives Platform for Tebow-bashing, This Time by Leftist Writer Dave Zirin
"I have lost the debate on Tim Tebow’s skill as a quarterback. But I’ll still challenge Tim Tebow’s politics for as long as necessary. And in that battle, the fight continues."
That's how leftist sportswriter Dave Zirin concluded a January 8 column at EdgeofSports.com. So naturally Zirin was the perfect guest for MSNBC to bring on today to discuss the "polarizing" Tim Tebow. [MP3 audio available here; video posted below page break]
"When it comes to polarization and setting people's teeth on edge, comparing Tom Brady to Tim Tebow is like comparing an acorn to an oak tree," The Nation sports editor Zirin began, prompting laughs from NewsNation substitute host Craig Melvin.
Of course, the implication is that Tebow is a "polarizing" figure may be true only in the sense that the public at large and the liberal mainstream media see the world radically differently. The public largely loves Tebow, the liberal sports media, Zirin in particular, not so much.
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"Tebow bothers a lot of people for his actions both on the field and off... off the field we know what it is, there's been a lot of discussion about it, his evangelical Christianity, his spokesmanship for Focus on the Family," Zirin noted.
Later in the segment, Zirin informed viewers that Focus on the Family believes in "reparative gay therapy and ending reproductive rights for women...Tim Tebow never gets asked about this," groused Zirin, although, of course, Tebow has never used his celebrity as a platform to plug "reparative gay therapy" and his pro-life Super Bowl ad ended up being much tamer than left-wing zealots made it out to be.
What really frosts Zirin, apparently, is that Tebow is still playing in the NFL, not having had his career "destroyed" by his "politics":
To call Tim Tebow a religious figure is like calling Jerry Falwell a religious figure. He's always been comfortable where politics and religion meet. And there's nothing wrong taking him on about that.
And the hypocrisy that I see is I see a history of athletes in this country from Muhammad Ali to John Carlos and Tommie Smith to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in the 1990s for the Nuggets who expressed beliefs on the other side of the spectrum and had their careers destroyed for it.
Carlos -- about whom Zirin wrote a book, "The John Carlos Story" featuring a preface by Cornel West -- and Smith were amateur athletes in track and field, one of many Olympic sports that has no professional analog. What's more, Carlos and Smith were recognized a few years back by ESPN, presented with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2008 Espy Awards.
Muhammad Ali registered as a conscientious objector to Vietnam, and continued to box professionally for some 15 years after doing so, with his most famous fights coming in the mid-1970s, after the end of the draft and the gradual removal of troops from Vietnam.
What's more, Ali was the torch-lighter for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, an incredible honor for someone supposedly blackballed by his politics and religion.
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf served a one-game suspension for not standing during the national anthem in March 1996 but went on in the NBA for two more years. Abdul-Rauf still plays basketball today, for a Japanese team.
Not only is Zirin a politically-driven Tebow hater, he can't get his facts straight while doing so.
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Comments
Tim Tebow's politics??
Submitted by motherbelt on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 5:13pm.
HUH??? That sounds so much nicer than saying you hate his religion, doesn't it, Mr. Zirin?
His spokesmanship for Focus on the Family? What would that be?
But hey, don't let facts stand in the way of a good canard.
Our local paper had an article today on how people feel about Tebow, and religion in sports. Most of the quoted reactions were positive, but they still felt the need to include this:
He has been chided for suggesting that God intervenes in something as trivial as a pro football game.
That's another canard, since Tebow has NEVER claimed or even implied that God helps him win (or causes him to lose).
Has Tebow ever said ANYTHING
Submitted by killa37 on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 5:14pm.
Has Tebow ever said ANYTHING about politics??? I've read that he won't endorse anyone yet - but that's about it. I guess cause he's a white Christian, he's allready 'political' in somebody's opinion.
Exactly what I was going to
Submitted by optimist on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 5:21pm.
Exactly what I was going to say.
When liberals attack, truth
Submitted by motherbelt on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 5:39pm.
When liberals attack, truth is usually the first casualty.
And that's not Tebow-bashing, it's Christian-bashing.
Submitted by Mike Bratton on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 6:08pm.
Attempted for thousands of years.
Never successful.
--Mike
It's God bashing!
Submitted by almostacowboy on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 7:59pm.
.
Gamaliel said in Acts 5: 29-39
Submitted by Norto on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 10:21am.
essentially if all of this is not of God, it will go away, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it, referring to what the apostles were saying in public about Jesus. The Pharisees were so convinced that Gamaliel was right that they had them flogged and let go. Of course, the Apostles were overjoyed that they were able to suffer in His Name so they went out and continued to preach the Word as they had been instructed and had indeed seen! They were martyrs, which in the Greek is translated, witnesses
God will not be mocked, so the NFL can ban messages under the eyes like John 3:16, but then Tim hits it 3 times in the Steelers game: yards passing, 316 on 10 passes, average 31.6, and the tv rating for the final quarter, yes, 31.6! Go God, Go Tim whatever the outcome.
btw Tim's knee bowing is not about asking for anything, it is about praising Him for all the matters of this life.
Spectrum
Submitted by JPTSO3 on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 5:26pm.
Other side? Ali is, according to any survey one cares to pull up, the most "recognized" athlete on the planet. Notwithstanding his refusal to serve he was revered after, and continued with his boxing career. Not only didn't his career crash and burn, it went to after burners. Carlos and Smith politicized the (seemingly) non-political Olympics. Not only did they decide to make a political statement in the most inappropriate place, they did it for political/cultural reasons not religious.
Abdul-Rauf is just a jackass, and frankly a hypocrite. He claimed at the time that he would "never stand" for the National Anthem, but when he was told he would be fined/suspended if he did it again, rather than standing on his new found "principal" he took the money and stood. His was a political statement, not a purely religious one albeit he claimed it was based on his religion.
Mr. Zirin doesn't cite any examples of Tebow's politics - there are none. The closest he could come would be cultural stands, based on his religion, not politics.
In all, Zirin is feckless jackass who apparently believes he can pass-off fact-free crap for researched journalism. Zirin appears to be a feckless fact-free ass - no wonder he got on MSNBC
Zirin's An Idiot
Submitted by rammingspeed on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 5:36pm.
The "other side" people Zirin refers to got into trouble for savaging America with insane, hateful political rhetoric, not because they were Muslims. Zirin is an embarrassment, but I'm of the school where "Let Them Speak, So We Know Them For The Madmen That They Are." Madmen NEVER win. They may have moments of triumph, but in the end, they are crushed. Nazi Germany. USSR. On and on since time immemorial. Castro survived because he was totally isolated in a tiny area. Truly, that was a loss for him, given what he'd hoped to accomplish.
This
Submitted by grammajane on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 5:47pm.
coming from someone who probably couldn't throw a football 5 yards. His jealousy is coming out side-ways.
Tebow is only polarizing
Submitted by ladeflippinda on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 5:51pm.
when he wins. When he loses, the media loves to jump on him. with an I-told-you-so nod.
Tebow is just trying to win a football game and be a success in the NFL. He thanks his God after a win, what should he do, point to himself. I guess freedom of expression is only for the narcissistic.
Never heard of him or his blog,...
Submitted by BBallleaper on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 6:21pm.
but if that's his picture he wouldn't have lasted 10 seconds in our wrestling room. You have to actually have worn a jockstrap pal to be a sportswriter.......oh wait, not today you don't!
This guy can't get a thought out without
Submitted by Lipton on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 6:34pm.
some stupid metaphor. I thnk the technical delays I had in listening to him actually made him seem smarter.
Make no mistake
Submitted by HockeyKid on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 7:51pm.
Zirin is a died-in-the-wool red-diaper baby. He bills himself as a "political sportswriter". All his books except one were published by Haymarket Books, which is a Marxist press run by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change--they only publish socialist crap from the likes of Noam Chomsky. They're set up as a non-profit--for the obvious reason that there's no profit to be made peddling the BS they print.
He's perfect for the Marxist Socialist Nothing But Communism network.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
The fight continues?
Submitted by almostacowboy on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 8:02pm.
Grasshopper, what is the sound of one man fighting?
Go ahead and hit him with your purse, Zirin.
Submitted by drsamherman on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 9:34pm.
Your diatribe comes off like some jealous, spurned woman in a badly written 1930s melodrama made for the "B" picture unit.
I don't know if you count
Submitted by balboa on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 11:00pm.
I don't know if you count ESPN as liberal media, but they love Tim Tebow.
Read this link...
Submitted by tdabbs on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 12:04am.
... and you'll learn what Tebow is really about:
http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7455943/believing-tim-tebow
Hypocricy abounds
Submitted by shayne62 on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 1:27am.
So Tim Tebow bows. Did anyone say anything anytime Donovan McNabb raised his fingers in the air to show G0d appreciation? What about all those athletes who thank Jesus in the locker rooms, following games? Did anyone say a word when Tom Landry openly discussed his born-again faith? How about the myriad of newpersons who advised Tiger Woods to "come to Jesus?"
Clearly, this is all about hating Tebow because his mother chose life. The liberals will deny it till they turn blue. But it is what it is and there really is no sense arguing the point with them.
To liberals, Christianity is only to be used in order to further their agendas. When it's no longer needed, it's discarded. Just like humans in a Marxist wonderland.
Muhammad Ali
Submitted by misterbee241 on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 9:54am.
Spit.
He turned his back on his God and his country.
His politics?
Submitted by CobraMan on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 12:14pm.
"But I’ll still challenge Tim Tebow’s politics for as long as necessary. "
When did Tebow announce his candidacy for public office?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Tim Tebow
Submitted by nolefan2 on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 4:27pm.
is mocked by many for bowing down and giving thanks to his God. It amazes me that so many in the liberal media find this appalling when they have NO problem whatsoever with the behavior of the majority of our NFL and NBA athletes who prance and dance, point to themselves, do the Heisman pose, and other things to bring the attention to them. Look at me, me, me! They are nothing but overpaid narcissists. I have stopped watching most professional sports because of their behavior. I'll take his off-the-field behavior over their's anyday. Tim Tebow is a refreshing change!
Tebow link
Submitted by Lonevoice on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 10:13pm.
that was an awesome article!!
Hororable man
Submitted by JPTSO3 on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 2:17am.
An article in the Christian Science Monitor discusses Tedow’s philanthropy. Before the Steeler’s game, in lieu of putting on war paint and cracking his helmet against a wall, he was speaking with Baily Knaub a 16 year old girl who has had 73 surgeries. The Tebow Foundation has a “Wish 15” program that grants “Make a Wish” requests to young people with serious medical problems. Tebow often invites guests and their families to games, puts them up in a hotel and even walks them to the car after the game. His charity is rooted in his faith. His “politics” is rooted in the charity of Christ. I would not be so Christ-like if I met Zirin. I would just as soon break his nose than simply call him out for his feckless attack.
Now that Tebow's season is over, he won't be flying to Cabo with Jessica Simpson or getting his photo taken stumbling out of a trendy bar in upper Manhattan ( events Zirin could only write about, and wet dream over) Tebow will be doing what he does so well - demonstrating class, humility, and charity; things which are clearly alien to Zirin.