Tim Tebow's very earliest beginnings were fraught with uncertainty. He was born to Christian missionary parents Bob and Pam Tebow on August 14, 1987. At the time of his birth his parents were situated as missionaries in the Philippines, and his mother became ill with an infection caused by a pathogenic amoeba. Because of the drugs being used to treat the infection, doctors advised an abortion in order to preserve Pam's life. But, regardless of medical recommendation, Bob and Pam decided to continue with the pregnancy. The decision may not have been an easy one. On this point I cannot venture to even speculate. However, despite the uncertain outcome of the situation, Tim's parents thoroughly grasped the obvious - there was more then one life at stake in the decision to abort. As a result, Tim was born - alive and healthy.
From such precarious beginnings, Tim Tebow thrived and went onto become the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. However, my interest lies not in Tebow's football stats, impressive as they may be. I am much more interested in the very public stance that he has taken in regards to abortion, especially his latest endeavor. Apparently this year's Super Bowl will be hosting a commercial funded by Focus on the Family that will feature Tim Tebow, his mother Pam and, a probable anti-abortion message. The football player had this to say regarding the anticipated controversial nature of the commercial, "I know some people won't agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe. I've always been very convicted of it (abortion) because that's the reason I'm here, because my mom was a very courageous woman. So any way that I could help, I would do it."
And as you can imagine the critics are already buzzing! Among those particularly piqued are a national coalition of women's groups who fear that Tebow's message, as reporter David Crary puts it, "... is likely to convey an anti-abortion message." Jehmu Greene, president of the New York Woman's Media Center made the following remark upon the subject, "An ad that uses sports to divide rather than to unite has no place in the biggest national sports event of the year – an event designed to bring Americans together." But the most interesting, not to mention scathing criticisms centers not around the Tebow family, but was made regarding the Christian principles of Focus on the Family. "By offering one of the most coveted advertising spots of the year to an anti-equality, anti-choice, homophobic organization, CBS is aligning itself with a political stance that will damage its reputation, alienate viewers, and discourage consumers from supporting its shows and advertisers," stated a letter written by the Woman's Media Center. A spokesman for Focus on the Family, Gary Schneeberger, explained away all concern, stating, "There's nothing political and controversial about it (the commercial). When the day arrives, and you sit down to watch the game on TV, those who oppose it will be quite surprised at what the ad is all about."
Despite the flurry of negative opinions, CBS has stood by their decision to support the commercial, stating that the add is "appropriate for air." However, some sports fans do not agree. "If you're a sports fan, and I am, that's the holiest day of the year," wrote national columnist for CBSSports.com Gregg Doyle. "It's not a day to discuss abortion. For it, against it, I don't care what you are. On Super Sunday, I don't care what I am. Feb. 7 is simply not the day to have that discussion."
Phew! What grips me most about the scathing nature of the controversy is the fact that not one of the protesters has actually viewed this commercial. That privilege will postponed until game day. However, the spirit behind all this hullabaloo cannot be ignored, and as I sit here, I silently ask myself, "What are they so afraid of?" The very likelihood that this impending commercial will contain a strong pro-life message is more then enough to send woman's rights groups scurrying to the nearest post office, letter in had, demanding that CBS rethink the stance on the use of such inappropriate material. Is Super Sunday, as Gregg Doyle said above, an inappropriate day to, "discuss abortion?" I don't think so.
According to last year's statistics, the average global viewership of the Super Bowl was just over 100 million people. So I think that it is very safe to assume that, this year, around 100 million people (and possibly more) will be viewing this supposedly controversial add. So again I query, "What's the immediate threat?" How could an appropriate, possible pro-life commercial lasting 30 meager seconds harm the conscience of the American public?
One of the greatest benefits of controversy is the fact that it causes the person being opposed to stop, stand back, and wonder, "Why?" ... especially in such an obscure circumstance as a "probable" pro-life commercial. If the pro-life message had no pictorial credence, no scientific evidence to support its claims, and no truthful basis whatsoever, then no possible threat could be detected by the pro-choice community. They would simply dismiss pro-life doctrine, and this upcoming commercial, as inconsequential. Who, in their right mind, would bother wasting time in order to refute something obviously and utterly ridiculous? However, this is not the case. Abortion kills - it stops a beating heart, dismembers, and tares a tiny body to shreds. We have the pictorial evidence to prove it, and the pro-choice community knows it. They obviously want to silence the message.
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