I miss the old days.
And by "old days", I mean when it was just so simple to tear into Tim Tebow for being a mediocre NFL quarterback and just judging athletes by their performance as opposed to finding a flaw in their humanity.
Tebow recently was assigned to the Class A affiliate of the New York Mets organization. Good for him! That shows that while he's most likely never going to be a Major League Baseball star, he's still good enough to hit a curveball, catch a ball and throw a ball and run bases like a professional.
Let's be fair here, there's not many people who can do that on the pro stage while also possessing the title of Heisman Trophy winning quarterback.
So let's give the man his props.
But that's not the only story of an athlete attempting to reclaim his identity which is making headlines this week.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made some news last week with his involvement in an international campaign to send food, water and supplies to the nation of Somalia, which is preparing for a famine of historic proportions which may reportedly affect more than six million people.
Now, we can all sit here and giggle about the "former" part of that above sentence. Kaepernick did a lot of the damage to himself in regards to his status as an NFL quarterback based in large part to his refusal to stand for the national anthem before games last season.
He didn't help his cause a couple days after being released from his contract from the 49ers when -- perhaps acknowledging the damage he'd done to his career -- suggested that his form of protests were over and that he would return to standing for The Star Spangled Banner at future games.
And while Kaepernick's football career is in tatters, that was high time for President Donald Trump to pile on as well.
Monday night, during a rally in that professional football mecca known as Louisville, Kentucky, Trump mocked Kaepernick's protests as well as the speculation (which I believe to be wholly accurate) that some teams might be hesitant to sign Kaepernick for fear of negative publicity.... or worse yet, the mocking from the President's Twitter account.
It was reported that NFL owners don’t want to pick him up because they don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump. Do you believe that?
Yes, Donald. As a matter of horrifying fact, I do believe that.
Never mind the audacity of the comments, nor the desperate need for the President of the United States to refer to himself in the third person, or even the incendiary idea that a political rally needed a cheap gag directed at a man who (a) exercised his First Amendment rights, (b) set fire to his own career, (c) is still desperately trying to rebuild his image and now will likely face the ire of supporters so blinded by their own issues that they are nearly falling over themselves to tear into some newfound raw meat.
Kaepernick is a punch line. And for that, he can blame his own choices, his own beliefs and our own lack of willingness to accept anything which we don't understand or appreciate.
Tebow's issue wasn't his religion, and it should never have been about his religion.
My argument wasn't that he didn't succeed because of his faith, but that it was absurd to suggest that teams should give him a second, third or fourth chance to succeed because of his faith.
Your faith, your political or social ideologies aren't what make you a spectacular athlete.
Your abilities to throw a pass, hit a ball, run bases and score touchdowns. That's all.
And no matter what you may think of how an individual came to have those abilities -- be it spiritual or just a few extra hours in the weight room -- the facts are some people are simply better than others at throwing, hitting, running and scoring.
That's not a spiritual entity choosing sides. That's not a political affiliation.
That's just being.
I wish Kaepernick and Tebow the best of luck in whatever path they choose to follow.
I was angered when Kaepernick announced he was going to end his "protest", simply because it made him look weak. Owners of teams and general managers across the league were most likely convinced at that moment Kaepernick was making that announcement simply because he was coming to terms with the idea his protests cost him a future paycheck.
But I hope he continues to follow his passion.
Because he was -- for at least a few moments last year -- brave enough to take a stand.
The same for Tebow -- for as much as I giggle at the notion that we're all supposed to cheer for him for some sanctimonious reason that he's just a really nice guy -- he did something very few athletes even get the opportunity to do.
I'd like to think we can celebrate both athletes. For at least being courageous to defy odds, get people talking and hopefully make some history.