XPost: alt.tv.pol-incorrect, alt.sports.football.pro, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh XPost: alt.sports.football.nfl

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick recently filed
a grievance against the National Football League, accusing all teams of colluding to deny him a place on a team because he kneeled during the
national anthem. As was true with Michael Sam, the openly gay player
and activist who claimed after he was drafted and released that owners
didn't want him, Kaepernick isn't playing because he's not worth
signing. Period.

So what is it that keeps Kaepernick in the media spotlight? They like
him. Multimillionaire celebrities who wear Che Guevara T-shirts and
socks that depict the police as racist pigs are celebrated by
reporters. They feel your pain about racist America.

But what if you're an athlete with passionate beliefs about Jesus
Christ? That, folks, is a bridge too far. Jesus Christ is a name that
should probably be avoided in mixed company.

They made it almost toxic with Tim Tebow. Liberal radio host Bill Press
told him to "STFU," or "shut the f--- up," about his "Lord and savior."
He called Tebow a "disgrace." Undeniably, he was voicing the opinion of
many journalists -- but not all.

Usually, reporters are just uncomfortable with the subject. Take a new
ESPN profile of The Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins and
his remarkable decision to pass up a long-term contract for a year-by-
year "franchise tag." In Kevin Van Valkenburg's article, faith didn't
bubble up until paragraph 17. Cousins said he told Redskins President
Bruce Allen, "I prayed about it and said, 'Lord, what do you want to
do?'"

Faith is central to Cousins. In a speech at Jerry Falwell's Liberty
University, Cousins explained: "I just didn't feel a peace about
signing a long-term contract. I think the Lord communicates with us in
many ways, and one of those ways is through his peace. And I just
didn't feel at peace. And in addition, I do believe that the Lord, at
least in my life, he likes to use one-year contracts, not long-term
contracts, if you will."

Cousins' ascent to a starting job in pro football is a dramatic story.
ESPN also noted that when he couldn't get a spot on a college football
team, his pastor father asked him, "Are you going to try and control
your future, or are you ready to surrender your future to the Lord and
let him do as he pleases?"

ESPN can't really handle the spin on this ball. The website
GetReligion, which often notices clumsy reporting on religion, pointed
out that this long article never included the words "church" or
"Christian."

Superstar Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who won the first World
Series game for the team, has also spurred this awkwardness. An August
story ran in the Los Angeles Times about his marriage to his wife,
Ellen Kershaw. The writer wrote that their wedding was soon followed by
a trip to Zambia to work with orphans. Why? "It was always on her
heart," he said. "It wasn't on my radar and I knew when I married her
that it was going to involve me, so we went over there the first time
three weeks after we got married. And it does. It changes you."

"It was on her heart" is Christian lingo. The Kershaws then co-authored
a book with Ann Higginbottom titled "Arise: Live Out Your Faith and
Dreams on Whatever Field You Find Yourself." They wrote, "The battle to maintain a Christ-centered identity is the most worthy fight we will
face." But you wouldn't know that from the newspaper account, which
just avoided the entire religion angle.

In the last year, journalists have lamented a lack of role models for
youth, and rightly so. Why not then spotlight the athletes whose
Christianity is their inspiration? There are many stories out there
waiting to be told.

:L. Brent Bozell III is the president of the Media Research Center. Tim
:Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and :executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org.


--
Dems & the media want Trump to be more like Obama, but then he'd
have to audit liberals & wire tap reporters' phones.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)