bapgeek:

cumaeansibyl:

invisiblelad:

poisonoceandrinks:

 It does not take courage or strength to come out to this society as christian. Teenagers do not commit suicide due to the incessant harassment, violence and discrimination that comes with being christian. In fact, it is the ignorant hate of many of the church’s members that has ingrained fear, guilt, hopelessness and isolation into the hearts of so many of the gay and lesbian community. It took courage and strength for Jason Collins to come out - and in my eyes he is a hero. He’s heroic for setting the example for children and adults everywhere that it is okay to be different. It is okay to be gay, and it is imperative that we accept others who aren’t exactly the same as us. Jason, like many other people revealing that they are gay, risked losing relationships to his friends and families as well as teammates. He was plunging head first into a world of unjust prejudice. He was brave enough to stop pretending to be something he is not. Tim Tebow expressing his faith did not risk those things. Stop comparing the two, and stop being bigoted.

This is an ignorant false equivalency.Tim Tebow’s Christinanity was and is a topic of conversation every time I’ve ever seen it come up. He most certainly did not keep it to himself and he didn’t suffer for it. What baffles me about this dense comparison is that being a Christian Football player is not in any way unique..as Christianity is the most common religion in the United States. Honestly, what is there to say? Tim Tebow was not the only Christian on his team. He was not the only Christian in the NFL and he most certainly didn’t have to “keep it to himself”. 

Collins on the other hand, has done something that requires infinitely more courage, in a sport so apparently resistant to the idea gay people exist among them. The difference is worlds apart and the comparison is laughable.

Not only that, but people gave a whole lot of time and respect to Tebow’s Christianity when they literally can’t give a shit about the religious faith of athletes of color. Never seen anyone fall all over themselves to praise Latino MLB players who cross themselves before an at-bat or black NFL players who talk about Jesus in press conferences. In fact, I’ve seen some eye-rolling and mocking of that behavior as melodramatic or insincere from the same people who glorified Tebow.

Of course, getting at an individual sportscaster’s actual opinions on Tebow’s behavior can be difficult, because Tebow’s popularity as a good white Christian boy was so extreme that ESPN had an actual policy of mentioning him whenever possible. I know for a fact there were sportscasters who chafed under this directive because it wildly exaggerated the importance of a player who’s not actually that good. And there’s the other thing — he kind of sucks at football. But he’s got this devoted little fanbase and major sports outlets think he makes “a great story” because he’s an outspoken white Christian.

All of the above.

Plus, the dude makes pro-life commercials and paints Bible verses on his face. Nobody is stopping Tebow from expressing his religious beliefs. Ever.