Michael Sam vs. Tim Tebow: Is It a Double Standard or Just Pure Christian Intolerance?
Tim Tebow bowed a knee to Jesus Christ in prayer before every football game and took plenty of flack for his so-called “Tebowing.” Indeed, NFL players mocked his ritual—but not one of them that I know of was sent to Christian sensitivity training to learn how not to offend the faith-filled footballer and his many fans.
So why did Miami Dolphins second-year defensive back Don Jones get fined by his team for tweeting “OMG” and “horrible” after the St. Louis Rams drafted Sam? Why did he get excused from the team, despite deleting the comments and now apologizing?
Donald Trump suggested on Fox News there’s a double standard at work.
“We’ve become so politically correct in this country that the country is going to hell,” Trump said. “People are afraid to talk. They’re afraid to express their own thoughts. I’ve heard many people—I’m not even speaking for myself, but I’ve heard many people that thought the display after he was chosen was inappropriate. And whether or not it was, I don’t know. But it was certainly out there a little bit.”
“And I’m very happy that he got chosen,” Trump said. “I’m all for it. I think it’s great that he got chosen. I hope he does so well. But I thought he was really going at it. I haven’t seen anything like that in a while. He was really going at it. Yet when Tebow did his thing, which a lot of people thought was totally fine, he was just criticized so badly. I guess you could say there is a double standard. It’s sad.”
But is double standard the best phrase to describe what’s going on here? Or is it just that there’s more tolerance for homosexuality than Jesus Christ?
I hashed it out with Rock 107’s “Anger Artist” this morning and tossed the audio up on a quick YouTube video. I’ve also written about Michael Sam in the past if you want to check that out for reference. Listen to the short audio and sound off.
Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet. You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@
