How far would a New York sportswriter get in his career if he mocked a black liberal football player for sounding like he was playing without a helmet (brain-damaged)? New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica certainly feels safe trashing former NFL wide receiver David Tyree for opposing gay marriage:
On the sports pages we get the ex-Giant, David Tyree, who once made the greatest catch in Super Bowl history pressing a ball against his helmet one night against the Patriots in Glendale, Ariz. and now sounds as if he might have occasionally played without one. A helmet. And this isn't because Tyree says he would give up his Super Bowl win to prevent gay marriage from becoming the law in New York.
Then he pretended Tyree thinks the homosexuals are like the murderers on 9/11:
Tyree makes a video for the National Organization for Marriage that says gay marriage would lead to "anarchy." Sure it would. Having these gays be officially married in the state of New York would bring on fabulous rioting in the streets, along with making them a threat to Catholics. Of course. Like they are Al Qaeda operatives on Christopher St.
Not even Lupica could just let that word be stretched beyond belief. He added that when ESPN.com asked Tyree about the use of the word "anarchy," Tyree said he didn't mean it literally, that he was really talking about the "moral fabric of our country."
The headline on this piece was "David Tyree, Archbishop Timothy Dolan wasting their breath spewing ignorance on gay marriage issue." Lupica first attacked the Catholic Archbishop of New York for being some rube from Milwaukee who hasn't yet fully accepted Manhattan culture:
First there is Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who came here from Milwaukee and sounds more like somebody from out of town than ever, saying that the idea of gay marriage constitutes an "ominous threat" to everything good and decent. Dolan sounds like somebody worrying that if gay marriage becomes law in New York on his watch, it may drop a safe on his chances of being promoted to Cardinal.
It's an easy punch for a secular reporter to throw, that Dolan is like the Vatican's local vice president desperate for a promotion. It didn't occur to Lupica, despite his Catholic schooling, that the Church didn't expect victory, but did expect the hierarchy in New York to stand up for Christian tradition and scripture. [Hat tip: Matthew Archbold]
Earlier: Lupica on Tea Party protests: an occasion for "storm-trooper soundbites and hate"
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