{"id":106781,"date":"2013-06-13T20:00:25","date_gmt":"2013-06-14T00:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/?p=106781"},"modified":"2013-06-13T20:04:55","modified_gmt":"2013-06-14T00:04:55","slug":"on-tebow-spirituality-and-stating-the-obvious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2013\/06\/on-tebow-spirituality-and-stating-the-obvious\/","title":{"rendered":"On Tim Tebow, ‘spirituality’ and stating the obvious"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Here we go again, sort of.<\/p>\n

Now, I live in the land of purple and black here in Maryland, home of the World Champion Baltimore Ravens (it\u2019s still fun to say that), where if anyone asked the local faithful to nominate a few candidates for the role of Antichrist, New England coach Bill Belichick would be right near the top of the list. Thus, the announcement that You Know Who had signed with the Patriots (Tim Tebow plus Patriots; get ready for an IRS audit) created quite a bit of amazement.<\/p>\n

And now this, care of a better-than-the-norm story in Newsday<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

FOXBORO, Mass. \u2014<\/strong> The Patriots have said almost nothing about Tim Tebow\u2019s football skills \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 and where he might fit in on the field.<\/p>\n

But Wednesday the team\u2019s owner, Robert Kraft, said he was drawn to Tebow in part because of his \u201cspirituality,\u201d using that term three times to reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t have enough good people around you,\u201d Kraft said after a ceremony to honor 26 winners of the Myra Kraft Community MVP Awards, named for his late wife. \u201cHe has the added dimension of spirituality being so important to him, and that personally appeals to me a lot.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, no sane reader had any trouble reading the code language here. There is no way on earth that Kraft was suggesting that young master Tebow was one of those \u201cspiritual but not religious\u201d people. Kraft simply didn\u2019t need to connect the dots for everyone in the room to know what he was saying. Right?<\/p>\n

Now my journalist question \u2014 after reading quite a few mainstream reports on this development \u2014 is whether it is a good thing or a bad thing that some, perhaps many, journalists felt that they needed to write this story while avoiding the \u201cC\u201d word. Did journalists need to state the obvious, or was the fact they were writing about TIM TEBOW <\/em>enough for most of the population of North America? <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The team at Newsday<\/em> decided to edit into the news text \u2014 in background material, of course \u2014 simply, clear references pointing to the rest of the religious angles in this story:<\/p>\n

Tebow long has been known for his strong Christian faith. Kraft, who is Jewish, added, \u201cEvery interaction I\u2019ve seen and watched, whether he\u2019s in college or when I met him in the draft process, he handles himself in a first-class way. I don\u2019t know anyone who has ever said anything that is not positive about him \u2014 people who are objective.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A wise choice? I mean, after all, we are talking about a religious ghost the size of an elephant.<\/p>\n

Belichick, of course, had little or nothing to say about anything linked to this media circus. He\u2019s a master of the stone-faced press conference. Tebow was his usual self and said a few polite words and, when offered a chance to flee, managed to escape the media blitz.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, I loved this second set of comments from Kraft:<\/p>\n

Kraft called the addition of Tebow an example of \u201cdepth management.\u201d But for now Tebow is third on the depth chart at quarterback with little apparent chance of moving up. When asked specifically what impresses him about Tebow on the field, Kraft said: \u201cI think he\u2019s hard-working and very cooperative.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Belichick did Tuesday, Kraft eventually tried to steer the conversation away from Tebow, saying, \u201cHe\u2019s just one of 90 people right now. I wonder if we haven\u2019t talked enough about him.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And all the people said?<\/p>\n

By the way, Newsday<\/em> was not the only news source to quickly add the \u201cC\u201d word into the mix. At the \u201cOn Faith\u201d section at The Washington Post<\/em>, online editor-reporter Elizabeth Tenety was even more blunt<\/a>. I liked the way she let the main \u201cspirituality\u201d quote run long to show that Kraft was actually making an attempt to link the quarterback\u2019s faith and character with football issues: <\/p>\n

Over the years, NFL quarterback Tim Tebow\u2019s Christian faith has been part of his intrigue to his supporters, and a turnoff for those who think he is too open about his personal beliefs.<\/p>\n

Wednesday the New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft put himself on the side of those who admire Tebow for his faith, telling reporters that the quarterback\u2019s spirituality is part of his appeal.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Kraft told reporters, according to ESPN: \u201cIf you want to win in this league, you need quality depth management, in the age of the salary cap. Whenever you can get a competitive, first-grade person to join your team, you never know what happens. But for me personally, having Tim Tebow on this team, he\u2019s someone who believes in spirituality, he\u2019s very competitive and works hard, and has a great attitude, and he\u2019s a winner. So having him as part of our franchise is great, but he has to compete just like anyone else. We\u2019re blessed to have a lot of people like that, but the fact that spirituality is very important to him is very appealing to me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To top it off, this was not Kraft\u2019s first set of remarks on this topic. <\/p>\n

Kraft, who is Jewish and has reportedly made large philanthropic donations to Israeli sports causes, has spoken positively about Tebow\u2019s faith before. Ahead of a 2011 showdown between the Patriots and the Denver Broncos, where Tebow then played, Kraft said: \u201cHe\u2019s great for the NFL. \u2026 The kind of young man he is and the values he represents, I think it\u2019s terrific. \u2026 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a date with him last year here when he came (before the draft). He\u2019s a real, fine young man and I sort of like it that he\u2019s about spirituality and the country is thinking about spirituality.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wait! There\u2019s more!<\/p>\n

Since we are talking about a news publication in Washington, D.C., where there are more lawyers than people, Tenety also came up with a perfectly valid legal angle:<\/p>\n

Charles C. Haynes of the First Amendment Center says that he thinks that Kraft\u2019s comments on the role Tebow\u2019s faith played in his hiring are perfectly legal. Haynes writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a difference between hiring or retaining someone on the basis of religious affiliation, which could run afoul of civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion, and hiring or retaining someone because, among other things, he or she is spiritually-minded or has good values. I see nothing problematic for an employer to express admiration for employees who have faith commitments or good character etc. absent evidence that religious employees are treated more favorably than non-religious employees. This is an instance, I think, of a employer generally admiring the character of an employee, including the employee\u2019s spiritual commitments.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Stay tuned. No matter how much they try to soft-pedal this, the Tebow and Belichick anti-circus is sure to keep drawing scrutiny.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here we go again, sort of. Now, I live in the land of purple and black here in Maryland, home of the World Champion Baltimore Ravens (it\u2019s still fun to say that), where if anyone asked the local faithful to nominate a few candidates for the role of Antichrist, New England coach Bill Belichick would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,28,18,12,4,21,48],"tags":[1795,1798,1797,1731,1796],"class_list":["post-106781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-evangelicals","category-judaism","category-people","category-religion","category-social-issues","category-sports","category-worship","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-newsday","tag-robert-craft","tag-the-washington-post","tag-tim-tebow"],"yoast_head":"\nOn Tim Tebow, 'spirituality' and stating the obvious<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here we go again, sort of. 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