New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow isn’t even a starter, but the media still can’t resist taking potshots at him. “Good Morning America” ran a chirpy segment about Tebow – the backup quarterback for the New York Jets – being anonymously ripped by his teammates.
In the opening segment of Good Morning America, Amy Robach
teased a
Nov. 15 segment [1] on the Jets quarterback by questioning: “Tim Tebow’s fall
from grace? Celebrated for his dramatic last-minute touchdowns and praised for
his faith. Now, being torn apart by his teammates behind his back. Why is the
most popular man in football no longer hailed as a hero?”
Probably because Tebow is only playing an average of 7 offensive snaps a game [2], and because the Jets are a dysfunctional (and injury-plagued) team with a 3-6 record as of this writing. This is not rocket science.
But this did not stop Good Morning America from reporting on the fact that “more than a dozen of his teammates on the New York Jets ripped him anonymously this week.” [2] Nor did it stop Josh Elliott from hammering “superstar quarterback” Tebow with mocking religious imagery, declaring that he was “once hailed as a savior” and he even made sure to remind viewers that he was “once lampooned for his direct line to heaven.”
Josh Elliott made clear the thrust of the segment, noting: “Over the last three years, Tim Tebow has attracted a devout following, on the field and off. The quarterback known across the country as much for his prayerful poses as for his play at the position. But this morning, Tebow appears more tarnished by the day. Though he has hardly played this year, more than a dozen of his teammates on the New York Jets ripped him anonymously this week.”
Later, Elliott continued: “It is a seemingly stunning fall from grace, from the Heisman trophy winner acquired by the Jets after a string of miraculous come-from-behind wins with the Denver Broncos. Now, fodder for late night comics.” (ABC then showed a clip of Jay Leno ribbing Tebow.)
What is even more ridiculous is that Good Morning America somehow considers newsworthy the ridiculous spectacle of football players on a bad team ripping a teammate who plays 10 offensive snaps a game.
After the segment, Josh Elliott decided to flaunt his football expertise, declaring: “I want to point out, the NFL, however brutally [sic], is a meritocracy. If you can play, you will play. And if the coaches thought he gave them a better chance to win than Mark Sanchez, you have to believe that the Jets coaches would be starting Tim Tebow today.”
And perhaps Elliott might stop playing sports commentator and echoing his fellow journalists who seem to delight in ripping Christian athletes [3]. And maybe ABC could even cover subjects such as Benghazi, instead of a backup quarterback.