Joshua Hammerman

And Rabbi Joshua Hammerman thought he had a “Tebow Problem” before. Back in 2011, the columnist at The Jewish Week fretted that the Tim Tebow-led Denver Broncos might beat his “beloved” New England Patriots in the upcoming AFC championship game. But his wasn’t a fan’s normal pre-game nervousness. It was the hand-wringing of a liberal bigot. Hammerman imagined that the rubes in fly-over…

During the first centuries of Christianity, Christians were thrown to lions in arenas to be jeered by mocking crowds. Today, Christian athletes face the taunts of a media strongly opposed to their faith. No Christian athlete draws more media catcalls than New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow. CBSChicago.com writer Dan Bernstein dismissed Tebow as “little more than an affable simpleton” and…

Wherever devout Christian quarterback Tim Tebow goes, he is dogged by the hatred of those who cannot stand him or his faith. Tebow was traded from the Denver Broncos to the New York Jets amid much media fanfare, and some sportswriters naturally used the occasion to engage in personal attacks on Tebow, his religion, and his fans. MSNBC invited Nation sports editor Dave Zirin to give his…

Update (19:35 EST, Dec. 18): On Friday, Hammerman apologized for his column at his personal blog site. You can read that in full here. Update (10:35 EST, Dec. 15): The Jewish Week has completely pulled the Hammerman post. Update (16:40 EST): Huston has a screen capture that shows the Hammerman post before he scrubbed it of its offensive passage. One Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, a columnist for…