Michael Jordan was once asked a political question. His response, one just about everyone can come up with, typified the way His Airness saw the world.
“Republicans buy sneakers, too.”
To Jordan, making any kind of political stand on controversial issues of the day only could serve to alienate people from the massive pool of customers buying his “Air Jordan” sneakers every year. In his mind, being as vanilla as possible has led to him earning hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars over the course of his career.
Of course, that wasn’t always the case. Back during the civil rights movement, in particular, many players were much more active socially than the ones today. Some of the most dominant athletes of their times, players like Jim Brown, Bill Russell and Muhammad Ali, among others, were willing to take controversial stands on major issues, as they were only interested in what was the right thing to do.
But in the years since, that idea has gone out the window, and now Jordan’s idea of the way to go about your business has become the standard operating procedure among the top athletes of today. You never see guys like Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter or Roger Federer take a controversial stand – it’s just not good business.
And that’s why it is refreshing to see Tim Tebow take a stand on arguably this country’s most divisive issue: abortion.
There’s not a lot of middle ground when it comes to Tebow. You either love him, or you can’t stand the sight of him. But there is no denying that the now former Florida Gators quarterback put together one of the greatest careers in the history of college football.
He won a Heisman. He was a finalist for two others. He won two national championships. He set practically every record a quarterback can set in the Southeastern Conference, which is nearly unanimously considered the country’s deepest and best football conference.
And while Tebow was succeeding at such a ridiculously high level throughout his career, he was equally known for his deeply religious nature. He scribbled bible verses onto his eye black before every game. He went on missionary trips with his parents. He seemingly talked the talk and walked the walk, so to speak, on all matters of his faith.
Many people were turned off by all of his faith talk – myself included. We so often hear players bringing faith into play when most of us just want to hear about the games they are playing. But Tebow never shied away from his beliefs, no matter how controversial. But none of that came close to the decision Tebow and his family have made in recent weeks.
As he prepares to go to the combine, and overcome the many hurdles (his throwing motion, accuracy, ability to read defenses, etc.) that people think will keep him from his goal of becoming a starting quarterback in the National Football League, Tebow and his mother, Pam, shot an ad for “Focus on the Family”, a Christian non-profit at the head of the pro-life movement.
In the ad, both Tebow and his mother speak out against abortions, and Pam details how doctors had advised her to have an abortion late in her pregnancy because of the potential dangers of giving birth, and how the decision was made to go ahead with the pregnancy.
There has been plenty of criticism against the ad itself, as well as against CBS for taking the ad in the first place. But, with all of that set aside, there should be no criticism leveled against Tebow for his decision to be a part of it, no matter where you stand on the issue.
For too long, we have longed for our famous athletes to speak out on issues that are important to them. We’ve wanted Woods and Jordan and Manning to put their two cents in, to tell us what they’re thinking, what makes them tick. Instead, we’ve only heard them tell us to buy a Buick, some Hanes and some Oreos.
Tebow very easily could have gone down the same route. I can only imagine how many companies would have enjoyed to have him selling their products if he had taken on the same blank-slate persona and guys like Jordan, Woods and Manning.
Instead, though, Tebow has spoken out for something he believes in. He’s decided to take a highly controversial, very public stand for something he truly believes in. It’s also something that certainly will cost him at least some dollars from companies as a sponsor, as taking such a public stand on such a divisive issue isn’t what sponsors are generally looking for. Instead, they’re looking for guys who can just sell their products without causing them much grief.
But for Tebow, it’s not about the money he could make from selling products. Instead, it’s about doing something he believes in, the same thing he’s been doing ever since he broke onto the national scene as a bulldozing freshman quarterback at Florida.
In all likelihood, Tebow will never succeed as an NFL quarterback. But no matter where his playing career goes from here, he will be remembered for being willing to stand up for what he believes in, on a topic that he’d be better served (financially, anyway) staying away from. But, instead, he has chosen to go at the issue head-on, like the countless defensive players he barreled over during his legendary career at Florida.
Tim Tebow could have gone the same route that Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning have, and start a foundation that does good works and then rake in as much advertising cash as possible by saying as little as possible about what you really think about the world. But, instead, Tebow’s decided to stand up for what he believes in, to try to make a difference.
And for that, no matter your stance on the issue, he deserves our respect.
