Negative Judgement Surrounds Positive Athletes

After completing one of the most dominant college careers of all time and becoming the number one pick in the WNBA Draft, Brittney Griner came out and publicly stated that she was gay. Let the ESPN comment boards be filled with the biting words that so many have thrown Griner's way. This will not get into a moral issue nor will I type this post in a way that would offend anyone whether they are a member of the gay community or not. But with Griner's coming out, she has received even more criticism than ever before and for what? For having a different view on relationships? For not living up to someone's standards when it comes to physical appearance? For not having a soft-spoken voice? What this whole career has proven is that Americans cannot accept excellence without a little negativity. Very few people have sat back and enjoyed the ride that Griner took the Baylor Lady Bears on these past few years, rather they have filled ESPN message boards with offensive comments about her body, her voice, or anything else you could think of. But since when has looks or someone's voice made a difference in their game? The biggest question in my mind when people begin talking about Griner and her supposed imperfections is, quite simply, so what?

Griner enjoyed historic success at Baylor

I'm not going to act as if I have never made an ill-advised comment about Brittney Griner because I have. Yet as I sit back and think about all that she has done, and all that she has accomplished, it makes me wonder why I focused more on her appearance instead of the history she was making. That's what brought me to realize that we simply don't accept an athlete that is doing everything right. We can't just appreciate an athlete without placing a negative label on them.

Obviously the biggest victim would have to be Brittney Griner as of right now. But what about Tim Tebow two seasons ago? About as perfect a role model as a parent would want their kid to have, Tebow emulates exactly what a professional should be: a hard-working, clean-mouthed, well-spoken leader. Sure he's unorthodox, sure he's not a top quarterback in the league, and sure "Tebow Time" seemed too good to be true, but few people really cheered for Tim Tebow in that incredible late-season run. Instead of cheering for a kid who had done everything right, the media and fans of opposing teams focused on his faith, on his sideline prayers, and on his unorthodox throwing motion. Trying to pass them off as attempts at getting attention or being overbearing, Tebow was put under a spotlight simply for his faith in God.

Again, the question comes to mind: So what? Why should it matter what his views on Christianity are? There's nothing wrong with having a relationship with God, and each individual has their own view and opinion but at the same time should respect the views and opinions of others. The same with the situation Brittney Griner is in. Why can't we just enjoy those athletes that give us every reason to cheer for them? Tim Tebow led a few great Florida football teams to glory as well as being a Heisman finalist three years in a row. Brittney Griner broke college records in multiple catagories on her way to becoming a three-time All-American. Neither athlete has made headlines for being in trouble with the law or really done anything negative that has caught the public eye. Does anyone care that they have been a positive influence in their sports?

"Tebowing" was thought of as attention-seeking

It comes back to the fact that so many athletes are contaminated with steroids, sexual assaults, drug abuse, DUIs, along with everything else. The thing is, it's hard to find a "clean" athlete in today's world which is why we feel skeptical when one comes along. We have such a negative outlook on our athletes because we're tired of being let down by the Mark McGwire's and Sammy Sosa's of the world. We're afraid to love an athlete because eventually it seems that every athlete gets into trouble, so we try to find these little imperfections and try to convince ourselves that a certain athlete isn't as great as they seem. It's about time we stopped trying to belittle the clean athletes of the world and just enjoy the ride they take us as sports fans on. Brittney Griner is gay and Tim Tebow is a Christian. So what?