Tim Tebow may be the greatest college football player in history. Known for his rare combination of size, speed and strength, he quarterbacked the University of Florida to two national championships and won the 2007 Heisman Trophy. However, Tebow is making headlines this week not for his on-field prowess but for his public stance on abortion.
On Feb. 7, when tens of millions gather to watch Super Bowl XLIV , Tim Tebow will appear in a 30 second commercial sharing his personal testimony on the beauty of choosing life. CBS’s decision to air the commercial has led to an outcry by abortion supporters, but also provides further proof that the culture of life is penetrating the mass media.
Just last year NBC rejected a pro-life Super Bowl ad submitted by the Catholic organization CatholicVote.org. The commercial, which featured powerful images of a baby in the womb and ended with the message, “Life: Imagine the Potential” (in this case, the child growing up to be President Obama) was seen by millions on YouTube. Nonetheless, it was denied the national stage of the Super Bowl.
This year, however, CBS has broadcasting rights to the most watched program of the year, and they have revised their policy on advocacy ads, agreeing to air the inspirational story of Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam.
In 1987 Pam and her husband were serving as missionaries in the Philippines and praying for a fifth child. Their prayers were answered when she became pregnant, but soon afterwards Pam contracted a dangerous intestinal infection endangering her pregnancy. Her doctors warned that the medications she needed were likely to cause severe deformities in her child. They advised an abortion. Citing her Christian faith, she refused. Pam nearly lost her baby on four different occasions during the turbulent pregnancy and spent the last two months before childbirth bedridden. She nonetheless refused to reconsider the doctor’s advice.
In those difficult moments, she and her husband made a pledge to God: “If you will give us a son, we’ll name him ‘Timothy,’ and we’ll make him a preacher.” In August, 1987, she gave birth to Tim – who, as evidenced by his rocket arm, square jawed good looks and body-builder’s physique, is anything but deformed. He is also a preacher, albeit a unique one. He routinely wears eye black that references Bible verses and has stated publicly that his is saving himself for marriage. The Bible verses on his eye black are the most often searched item on Google following a Florida Gator game. And on Super Bowl Sunday he will share with the world why he is thankful his mother chose life. That decision is angering many pro-abortion organizations, who are lobbying CBS to pull the spot.
A statement issued by the National Organization for Women (Now) said, “We…believe that this ad could potentially put women's health and lives at risk by promoting ideology over medicine.” NOW President Terry O’Neil called the planned ad “extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.”
The New York-based Women’s Media Center has launched a petition effort to have the ad removed from the Super Bowl lineup. They are calling the Tebow commercial an “attack on choice” and an attempt to “dictate morality.”
Focus on the Family, the evangelical organization sponsoring the ad, defended their role.
“We understand that some people don’t think very highly of what we do,'” Gary Schneeberger, a spokesman for Focus on the Family, told the Associated Press. “We’re not trying to sell you a soft drink ... We’re trying to celebrate families.”
Dr. Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission accused NOW of directing “venom and hatred” at Tim Tebow, his mother and Focus on the Family.
“This backlash exposes the irrational hatred of NOW who apparently despises any hint of a positive Christian message. CBS is to be commended for their willingness to not censor a wonderful story of a mother’s courage and love,” Cass said.
When the media uproar over the ad commenced this week, Tebow was asked how the controversy might affect his standing in the upcoming NFL draft.
He said, “A team that doesn’t want that shouldn’t take me. Pro-life is very important to me. My mother listened to God late in her pregnancy, and if she had listened to others and terminated me, obviously I wouldn’t be here. If others don’t have the same belief, it’s OK. I understand. But I hope they respect that at least I have the courage to stand up for what I believe in.”
In her excellent CBS News blog, Joan Crawford exposes the hypocrisy behind the opposition to the Tebow ad. She points out all the gore, violent and sexually suggestive images that pervades prime time television and concludes that: “there’s no outrage over these ads that glorify death and violence, that depict women brutalized by crazed psychopaths on the run. No uproar. That’s reserved, instead, for ads that ‘Celebrate Life,’ while images of guts and gore continue to seep into our living rooms without protest.
Likewise, Penny Nance of Concerned Women for America observes that NOW has never protested “sexually graphic or misogynistic” content on CBS.
It’s ironic that those who celebrate “choice” above all else object to Pam Tebow’s celebration of her choice of life. It’s doubly ironic when controversy surrounds a family friendly ad – and not any number of questionable programs or commercials circulating TV airwaves.
However, what is starkly real is the fact that since 1973 nearly 50 million babies have been aborted legally in the United States. That is a number larger than the population of 200 countries. Abortion has stripped our nation of unknown numbers of great men and women – and their achievements. Florida Gators fans cannot imagine Saturday afternoons the past three years without the exploits of Tim Tebow. On Super Bowl Sunday, when a projected audience of 150 million watches Pam and Tim Tebow share their beautiful story of faith, hope and life, one can only hope that all Americans will imagine the great potential of human life.
-- David Naglieri
Tim has the right to do commercials, why he's to be blamed. go ahead Tim. for SuperBowl, I already had my tix from Ticketwood.com and I'm waiting impatiently. can't wait! oh my god!
Posted by: Super Bowl | January 29, 2010 at 05:49 AM