Tim Tebow

People tend to either love or hate Tim Tebow, the quarterback for the Denver Broncos, primarily because he is so outspoken about his faith in Jesus Christ. The latest craze is “Tebowing”, going down on one knee in a prayerful pose, something that Tebow occasionally does during a game. Some fans do this in support of Tebow. Others do it as a form of mockery.

During yesterday’s game, Detroit Lions’ defender Stephen Tulloch sacked Tebow, and then mimicked Tebow’s prayerful pose. It was an obvious taunt of an opponent.

Tulloch supposedly told Tebow that it was just in fun, not meant to be mean-spirited. (This is a common response to one’s own misbehavior—to say that you didn’t really do what you really just did.) Tebow replied that it was fine. In other words, Tebow forgave him, something that Christians are supposed to do in response to an insult.

Sports columnist Greg Couch gave Tulloch a free pass for his unsportsmanlike conduct, and tried to squelch any real discussion about the issue when he wrote, “So you can invent bad blood if you want. You can pretend.”

I think it’s Couch who is doing the pretending. If a player of any other religion was mocked publicly the way Tebow was, the offending opponent would be torn apart in the press and the social media.

You can invent “good blood”. You can pretend if you want. The truth is, it is open season on Christians, and it promises to get worse before it gets better.