"I'd just like to first start off by thanking my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave me the ability to play football and gave me a great family and a support group and great coaches and everything around me."
Those were the words of Tim Tebow, the University of Florida's star quarterback, moments after realizing he had won the Heisman Trophy, the annual award given to the most outstanding player in college football.
With run-on sentences like that, it's clear Tebow isn't an English major. He is, however, a great leader. In three years at UF, "Timmy" has won two National Championships, one Heisman Trophy, and the hearts of many. With one year of eligibility remaining, some are already claiming that Tebow is the greatest college football player ever.
In his spare time -- which there isn't much of -- he gives motivational speeches and preaches The Word of God to children, inmates, and anyone else in need of guidance. And mind you, this is a twenty-one year-old we're talking about.
Tebow went back to his birthplace, the Philippines, last year for spring break. Instead of a trip to Cabo, Cancun or South Beach, he visited underdeveloped regions of his homeland. While there he spread The Word, hung out with young kids and helped doctors and nurses perform their duties.
Tim Tebow is what every parent wants in a child: hard-working, driven and selfless. The girls want him. The guys want to be him. Essentially, Tebow is a cross between Brett Favre and the Pope. And he's humble about it.
Like most Americans, Tim Tebow is Christian. If you know anything about the guy, you know about his love and appreciation for Jesus Christ. After every win, every accolade, Tebow is quick to thank his "Lord and Savior." And since he seemingly wins everything, he's eternally giving thanks.
But this kind of thing gets me thinking: why are we so accepting of these public displays of affection for Jesus? I know Christianity is the religion of choice in America, but would we be so accepting if a guy like Tebow had different beliefs?
For instance, let's imagine that -- instead of being a Bible-thumping Christian -- Tebow is a Qur'an-thumping Muslim. Neither his play on the field nor his actions off it change in the least. However, the opening to his Heisman speech gives eternal thanks to Allah. He points to Him, his God, and the teachings of Islam as the reason for his success in life.
How do you think that speech would have gone over with Americans? You'd be naive to think that Tebow wouldn't receive endless hate mail, a handful of death threats and far less positive attention from the mainstream media. Don't think so? Ask Muhammad Ali.
Ali was a once-in-a-generation sports figure. His boisterous personality was decades ahead of his time. Some called it show-boating. Others called it disrespectful, or disgraceful. And to some degree it may have been. But in defense of Ali, boxing is a sport where the objective is to punch your opponent into submission. A little trash-talk can go a long way in mentally defeating the other guy.
As for his performance in the ring, Muhammad Ali was unmatched. His unique style, exceptional stamina and will to win made him The Greatest. And although this claim is widely accepted by the average sports fan, many young people are unaware that Ali was banned from fighting on American soil for three years. He was stripped of his boxing license after refusing to fight in Vietnam, a conflict he saw as inhumane, stating that war was against his religion.
Ali and Tebow are alike in many ways: Both earned immediate respect within their sports from a young age. Both have used their fame in positive ways, donating much of their time to causes greater than themselves. Both, to this day, display unwavering faith in their God. And oddly, both became huge stars at a time when Islam was mistaken by many in our nation as the Anti-America.
Islam isn't the evil entity that our media makes it out to be. The bad guys, so to speak, are the Taliban, a group of radicals that happen to be Sunni Islamists. And to condemn all Muslims for the actions of a few is wrong. That would be like a predominantly Muslim nation hating all Christians because a small group of Catholics decided to terrorize their country a few times.
America has misunderstood Islam for generations. In the sixties White America denounced Islam because they believed that The Nation of Islam -- which they called the Black Muslims -- were against the white man. And because Ali began practicing Islam around that time, White America considered Ali an enemy.
Here's a little-known fact: The Nation of Islam had good intentions. It was formed to enlighten, encourage and support young African-Americans. It was formed to give people hope - which, ironically, is one of the theological virtues of Christianity. But many Americans could not make the connection then and do not make the connection now.
I'd like to make a few things clear: I'm not necessarily against overt professions of faith. Nor am I against faith itself. But I am against discrimination. I am against hypocrisy. If a Christian -- especially a white Christian -- is vocal about his or her faith, that person is praised as "holy" and immediately categorized as a good person. On the other hand, a minority is stereotyped in a more negative light.
I believe in balance above all things. And unfortunately, we live in an imbalanced world where things we aren't familiar with are often considered inferior. Too often we find that new ideas are neglected because people lack familiarity. How can the "leaders of the free world" be so ignorant?
I suggest American athletes keep their faith out of the sports realm. I'm all for freedom of speech - but as long as the intolerant remain so, we won't have religious equality. And honestly, is God the reason why an athlete finds success in athletics? He doesn't run suicide drills, lift weights or watch film. Why would God help an athlete win a meaningless sporting event? Doesn't He have better things to do, like save a starving child or stop an epidemic?
