Homophobe David Tyree is the gift that keeps on giving, this time in the form of a defense from ESPN's Jamele Hill, who has put out a particularly wooly and ill-reasoned "argument" that begins:
Known primarily for making an unforgettable catch, David Tyree lately has been speaking some pretty unforgettable words.
Tyree, whose catch in Super Bowl XLII is among the most amazing plays in NFL postseason history, has drawn widespread criticism for his strong opposition to gay marriage. The issue is a hot topic in New York, where the state legislature is currently considering whether to make New York the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage.
In a recent video for the National Organization for Marriage, Tyree said passage of a gay marriage bill would lead to "anarchy." He followed that up by telling the New York Daily News on Monday that he would trade his iconic catch and the Super Bowl victory over the Patriots for a ban on gay marriage.
If you're expecting Tyree to recant anything he said, prepare to be disappointed. When ESPN.com reached him Monday night, Tyree wasn't backing down. "As great as a catch as that was, that doesn't define me as a person," Tyree told me.
Tyree's comments have, predictably, generated two reactions: disdain and ridicule. I'm going to try a different reaction: acceptance.
Please read the whole thing: it got us boiling, from Ms. Hill's lack of understanding of the word "acceptance", to the "right to speak", to her amazingly backassword analogies. But we'll let an equally irate Cyd Ziegler from Outsports make the case against Ms. Hill:
On ESPN.com yesterday, columnist Jemele Hill said she accepts and respects David Tyree for being so active and vocal in his belief that gay people should be treated as second-class citizens.
The column is a sorry excuse for the quality we’ve come to expect from ESPN. Not just because as a black woman she should know better than to defend bigotry, and not just because she used her platform to tell her readers that anyone who stands up for hateful beliefs should be respected. Sure, those two things are pretty bad. But the shameful part of Hill’s piece is that, in her quest to lift up this bigoted man, she used even more faulty logic and poorly realized arguments than Tyree did in his original anti-equality video.
I understand these absurd, over-the-top columns get attention, but at some point intellectual integrity should come into play; It simply didn’t in Hill’s column.
I won’t rehash the details of her column here; You can read them at ESPN.com. Suffice it to say, she says we should all respect people like David Tyree, and I guess Fred Phelps too, because he so fervently sticks to his beliefs that God hates gay people. Heck, I’m sure her office is covered with posters of Jefferson Davis for sticking by what he believes despite a war erupting around him!
Read in full HERE.
After that mess, it's nice to hear some good news, like this interview with Laura Ricketts, co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, about the team's "It Gets Better" video:
The prediction was anarchy…so said former NY Giants Superbowl star David Tyree. He was talking about the results of the hotly contested gay marriage bill which just passed in New York, granting the right to gays the nation over to…God forbid…tie the knot. Just what could he mean by anarchy? Could he mean the national rush of drag queens to Kleinfeld Bridal—of television reality fame—to ‘say yes to the dress’? Did he mean that traditional brides would have to plan that much further in advance as all the good ballrooms of Manhattan will be scooped by the double income no kids, DINKs, flush with cash and desire to outdo the last do? Or is it something simpler, like public displays of affection springing up everywhere—handholding, kisses goodbye? I dare ask, has Tyree ever walked through Chelsea? If it means anarchy…bring it on. The last time I understood true anarchy was during the LA Riots where people of Tyree’s own ethnicity took to the streets to burn what they could to…I guess…make a point and scare a nation. Fears not Tyree, gays are scared of fire—too much product in our hair makes us more combustible than the average straight guy. There will be no burnings in the streets.
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