SaintsBro

Comparing religious beliefs to sexual preferences sounds like comparing apples to oranges to me.

First of all, I question has Sam ever actually been "praised for his gay lifestyle"? Where did this happen? I've only seen him praised for his courage in coming out, or his being a trailblazer, first of his kind, etc. NEVER have I seen any media outlet "praise" his homosexuality or his lifestyle, directly. Got a link for that? Most of the commentary I've seen, seems focused on what an event it was, a moment, first time this has happened in the pros, etc.

Nothing that Tim Tebow has done, has been the first time it's been done, out of anything that he has EVER done (and he has actually done a lot, if you count both off-the-field and on). But none of his Christianity was pioneering. Players have been pointing at the sky after touchdowns, genuflecting, kneeling, putting moments of quiet reflection together with happy celebration, and praying in end zones together, for generations. Literally for generations, decades now.

Was Tebow pioneering anything, by being the first openly devout Christian drafted in football? If he was, then it's a valid comparison.

And by contrast, I have not seen any sports or news media outlet "mocking relentlessly" Tim Tebow's religious beliefs, other than a few parody skits on comedy shows. Jimmy Fallon, SNL are not news media. I've heard of players mocking it (Detroit game that Tebow lost 45-10) but even that's got a wide variety of discussion about it, pro and con. Many people felt that the Lions players went too far in mocking him, it was widely discussed. Overall it is hardly a unanimous slam dunk premise, that everyone in the media is unfairly against Tebow, especially not in the news or sports media realm. He has been given every possible chance to prove himself, on the field, where the media should be looking. And now Sam will get his chance to prove himself on the field (if he even gets there).

Second big point -- getting to point #2 of Oak and others. When Tebow does the "Tebow" he is engaging in a very conscious act of moral grandstanding. Tebow is saying, "Look at me," just as surely as Billy "White Shoes" Johnson doing his knee-wobbling end zone dance was saying, "Look at me" back in the '70s.

Does Michael Sam do a signature sack dance, or tackle celebration, to promote his gayness, on the field, every time he makes a play? IF HE DID, then we would have an apples-to-apples comparison here.

Again, this is why I think we are getting off into the weeds, into comparing apples to oranges in this thread.