The realm of speculating a celebrity's sexual orientation is a province best left unentered. But it appears Tim Tebow has invited the churns of the rumor mill with pious public professions and other "evidence" now garnering headlines in the mainstream blogosphere.
Fresh off the cleated heels of winning ESPN's America's Favorite Athlete poll (albeit by a slight 3 percent edge), Tim Tebow's sexuality has moved beyond the fringe to become a mainstream topic.
First up, a parody of the controversial Manhunt billboards has made Tebow and fellow QB hottie Tom Brady the subject of many a gay Facebook posts this week (less evidence and more entertainment, admittedly):
But the loudest testament to a gay Tebow (according to hordes of homosexuals and some leading blogs in recent days) arrives in the form of the quarterback's post-Steelers game interview from late last year, a video that's also spreading like wildfire across social networks:
Normally, I wouldn't spare a second thought to men who are prone to slightly-lisped, wrist-flailing demonstrations. Who cares?! But when it's the aggressively evangelical and anti-gay organization-associated Tebow, we—even the open-minded gays who are regularly subjects of stereotypes themselves—might begin to assess the situation. Lord knows (apologies for taking the name in vain and all, Tim) that history is littered with devoutly-religious types finding themselves "exposed" as homosexuals, and study after study continues to reveal that ardent homophobes are more often than not self-hating gays themselves.
"Tebow would have an incredible opportunity to bridge the persistent divide in this nation between evangelical Christians and the gay community. I mean, honestly: It's time for this matter to be settled. Tebow could get his followers to be more accepting of gays, and he could get filthy liberals to be more accepting of evangelicals. I think he and Von Miller would make the cutest gay couple ever."
I was raised in Middle America, taught to kneel before the alters of Christianity and football, so Deadspin's romantic vision of an openly-gay Tebow resonates. A self-appointed (and fan-made) prophet who could link the evangelical/homosexual gap? Imagine the implications. I couldn't even fathom as a Catholic-school-boy grappling with same-sex attractions having someone like Tebow to look up to. Years of depression would've been shaved from my life.
If the rumor based on archaic stereotypes and wishful-thinking holds even an ounce of validity, Outsports' Cyd Zeigler Jr. brings us back down to earth.
"All that pious religious bullshit he spews…at the end of the day, that’s not him," writes Zeigler. "That’s what his parents and his pastors have drilled into his head from the day he was born. The kid doesn’t even know who he really is ... If he is in fact gay, he may not know it. Even if he does, chances are slim he’d be comfortable telling his mother…or pastor…let alone us.
"If Tebow is gay, he is buried beneath so much crap he many never get out from under it. Instead of attacking him for it, maybe reaching out a helpful hand would be nice. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a crappy quarterback. But all that 'my lord and savior Jesus Christ' stuff…could be Tebow’s cry for help."
What do you make of the intensifying rumors surrounding America's Sweetheart? Should the gay community leave Tebow alone or should we apply pressure to our accelerating fascination with the country's "favorite athlete?"
This whole article is stereotyping the religious community. I am a devout christian, and I am gay. these are not two different lives waiting to explode, its just the main stream media emphasizes on the religious groups that believe homosexuality to be an abomination, and fight against it. I'm an openly gay/weekly church goer, I live with my boyfriend. Its articles like this one that help to create this divide between the populous and push people away from God. If Tim Tebow is gay then I do believe he could help bridge this gap between gay bashing religious authorities and the gay population afraid of church and organized religion.
+2
... written by All-Am-Athlete,
January 13, 2012
So because the guy spoke with a lisp, was really excited and used his hands a bunch, has been vocal about his faith, and is attached to some conservative groups he is gay? Here's what I saw in the video: this guy is 24, and just had the biggest moment of his life and turned into a 12y.o. flopping his hands around and his lisp got stronger. Personally, I turned into a child when I won a National Championship, I can't imagine if I won a play-off game in my first try... This article and these rumors really piss me off. Do we still live in a place where gender, sexuality, and masculinity/femininity have to fit into perfect little boxes???? Men must speak with booming voices, not uses their hands when they speak, not show emotions like happy sad or excited, and must exude only the most stereotypically masculine traits... while women must speak softly and be overly emotional etc. How do we ever expect society to embrace the fact that people come in all sorts of packages, regardless of their sexuality, when we continually try to make anyone that is private in their social interactions, or exhibits any behavior that isn't "masculine/feminine" into a gay/lesbian person? Why does it even matter if they are gay/lesbian or not??? We have been focused so much on stopping bullying, yet we insist on bullying people into coming out and being a role model... I won't even start in on the role model issue. I do have to say I think its why we have had so many "come out" then recant. We need to quit desperately searching for a gay savior and start working on fixing the many backwards a$$ views and issues that come from within our own community. If Tebow is gay, then great he's gay... if not, then great he's straight. Either way, we need to stop putting him into a box that may or may not fit him and let him throw the dang football!!!
+12
... written by bep,
January 13, 2012
if he is gay it is nobodys business but his own. he does not need to come out for nobody, other than himself. having said that, i hope the rumors are false that katy perry's parents want to set her up with him. that is the LAST thing he needs. she is nothing but trouble in relationships and he doesnt need that in his life.
+3
... written by UMbidude,
January 13, 2012
Why do have assume that he could be gay or straight? How about the simple possibility that is he bisexual instead? Life is not just black and white, there are a lot of gray areas. But again, as many have pointed out, who cares whether is gay, straight, bisexual, asexual, closeted, repressed, on the DL, etc. etc. etc? It's his private life but people cannot help but wonder. None of our biz, folks!
+3
... written by gregoir,
January 14, 2012
tebow has to be gay. where there is smoke there is fire. and he is smokin hot.
-2
... written by Chrnh2552,
January 14, 2012
The article is quite correct. If he is gay he is in so much difficulty he dezrves our support. He is under crushing pressure just from football. Iwas where he is and could barely deal with it. And my life was private. He does not have that. And I never thought I would be letting God down.
+3
... written by wareagle,
January 14, 2012
I'm straight and have had the same question. It is simply not normal for a 24-year old to show absolutely zero interest in some sort of companionship. It is doubly abnormal in the hyper-testosterone world of sports. No one is too busy to do the normal things that come with living life, and normal entails wanting or seeking a relationship with someone.
+1
... written by wareagle,
January 14, 2012
I'm straight and have had the same question. It is simply not normal for a 24-year old to show absolutely zero interest in some sort of companionship. It is doubly abnormal in the hyper-testosterone world of sports. No one is too busy to do the normal things that come with living life, and normal entails wanting or seeking a relationship with someone.
+0
... written by hdbfly,
January 14, 2012
you knelt at "altars" when you were growing up. You didn't kneel at "alters". You change something when you "alter" it. You celebrate something (usually) when you are at an "altar".
+0
... written by Tombo,
January 14, 2012
He's almost as gay as Marcus Bachmann. He will NEVER come out of the closet, though.
-1
... written by rhpro,
January 14, 2012
The day Tim Tebow comes out is the day all of his fans and tebowers go for their collective guns and put him out of his misery. There are no queer pro football players, just as their are no queer iranians. The bosses just won't allow it
-1
... written by Rob Roberts,
January 15, 2012
If Tim Tebow is gay is none of anybody's business.
But the minute je joins up with anti-gay hate groups and makes anti-gay statements his sexuality is VERY MUCH our business. If he is truly gay (or even if he is not) he should have the good sense and decency to keep quiet on the issue. When he makes judgement about gays, then we have the right to judge him. Either he is a religious homophobe, or he is a closeted hypocritical religiois homophobe.
In either case, HE is throwing the first stone, and making himself a huge target for this sort of inquiry. Gays do not ask to be attacked and persecuted, and eventually society will learn that this is not acceptable. The consequences of homophobia will become so unpleasant it will become the equivalent of overt racism -- a career ending move.
I strongly disagree with the people here who say "who cares?". Until Tebow either disavows anti-gay bigotry or comes out of the closet as the gay man he probably is he is nothing more than a typical homophobic bigot trying to opress gays and keep us second-class citizens.
+2
... written by tony smith,
January 15, 2012
i think this is a stupid article. there are evangelicals who have been outed but this doesn't bridge the gap. evangelicals are fundamentalists. they would only listen to a gay person if that person were self-loathing. please stop writing about this man and let him rest.
+0
... written by tony smith,
January 15, 2012
Ron Roberts -- good grief. Tebow has said nothing about gay issues. To describe him as a "typical homophobic bigot trying to oppress gays and keep us second-class citizens" is ludicrous. I am a gay rights activist and civil rights lawyer. I find your comment offensive. PS: I am also gay!
+0
... written by tony smith,
January 15, 2012
There are so many stupid assumptions in this thread and article. 1. you must be gay OR heterosexual (nothing in between). 2. you must be gay if you are handsome (seriously?). 3. you must be gay if you haven't slept with women (idiocy). 4. because he is christian, tebow is homophobic.
Grow up.
+2
... written by Mike In Florida,
January 15, 2012
Having grown up in same town and same religion as TT. I strongly believe he could be gay. Problem it....it will be many years before he is able to cope with it. That religious pressure for me was amazing...for him it may be insurmountable-- even if he is superman! Gotta love him anyway!
+1
... written by rmgotcha,
January 15, 2012
HOPEFULLY a time will come when a person can do something well without the whole world trying to crawl into bed netxt to them.A lot of people fought a lot of years for that kind of freadom. FYI there there was a player with the Rams that was released for being gay, I think in the early 80'S
+0
... written by The sole man ,
January 21, 2012
Hello - could a told you this years ago!!! Maybe his sexuality will bring evangelicals closer and out of the closet than hidden and fondling little boys...
+1
... written by rhpro,
January 23, 2012
Notice how much time Tebow spends on his knee, praying? It's called praying away the gay, AND IT DOESN'T WORK.
+1
... written by TimTebowRocks!!!!,
January 24, 2012
You guys are jerks. Tim Tebow is a devout Christian. I don't think he's gay you idiots!
-1
... written by TimTebowRocks!!!!,
January 24, 2012
Listen rhpro he kneels on his knee because he's a Christian
-1
... written by Bill12120,
February 01, 2012
Whoever wrote this article is an idiot, and should find a new profession.
-2
... written by FL2012,
February 05, 2012
Gay people have nothing to do except thing of all people as gay lol!
-2
... written by Butch Manley,
February 08, 2012
The queen who wrote the article is ridiculous. Instinct is even more ridiculous for printing it. What a bunch of crap and stereotypical queeny POINT OF VIEW BY BOTH! This article is guilty of what gays have been fighting in the media for ever. Hateful and spiteful speculation and ignorance about ones actions or lives. Shame on you Instinct !
I am a gay man out of the loop. I don't follow football or pop-culture. Watching him for 2 minutes, I can confidently presume he is a VEGAS SHOWGIRL. He isn't JUST gay; hes a queen! I can see him performing on the mainstage at the Golden Nugget with a feathered headdress.
-1
... written by garman,
February 17, 2012
My best friends brother seems like the gayest guy in the world, but he's not. Her sister seems like a lesbian on steroids, but she's not. And my sweet, petite, very feminine friend... you got it, a lesbian! Who really knows what a persons sexuality is, mannerisms, the way they speak and other "obviously gay behaviors" are not really good indicaters of a persons sexual orientation.
I hope whatever Tim is, that he finds love; with a true life partner, friend and wonderful companion, be it male or female. It's what all people deserve, just love and some happiness. If he is gay, I hope and pray he'll find the strength and courage to be an open gay man. He seems a good guy at heart and if he turns out to be strait, I hope he opens his mind and heart to stop hurting others with that old time religion hatred of gays.
-1
... written by gobucks1962,
February 21, 2012
Folks, I hate to tell you this, but lisps and wrists are not what make a man gay. How freakin' ignorant this writer is. Don't get me wrong, I hope Tebow IS gay--and I hope he kicks some stupid straight ass if he comes out.
-1
... written by JPMORGAN,
February 23, 2012
NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT, HE DOES WALK KINDA FUNNY!...
-1
... written by T-Man,
February 24, 2012
Let him Live, I'am not gay. So leave him alone. I hate seeing this stuff about him, knowing the true as only I could know.Sorry Stop the wishful thinking
+0
... written by Dude,
February 25, 2012
Who CARES if he's gay? He's a damn good ballplayer, and that's all that matters!
-1
... written by Waydownsouth,
February 27, 2012
I don't follow football much, and until a few months ago I couldn't even tell you what team he plays for. I do know one thing for sure... when I saw that picture, I got a Teboner!
Who knows if he's gay or not, but if he's questioning, I volunteer to help him figure it out! Even if it is our little secret!
-2
... written by TAYLOR FREAKING HAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
February 29, 2012
Tim Tebow obviously isnt gay since he has a smokin girlfriend. yall are stupid. hes amazing.
-2
... written by shorts28,
February 29, 2012
When ur a christian u get attacked the bible say the world will come against you and that's what is happening ppl are making fun of the guy like SNL, ppl are calling him gay as long as Tim stands strong in his faith who cares! Leave him alone already.
+0
... written by hal74,
March 06, 2012
I really think he believes that he has to remain a virgin until marriage. He's probably using a fleshjack daily thinking of some hottie.
+0
... written by timmy tebow,
March 12, 2012
Tebow is not gay you guys are just some dumb peopole if he was gay he would be kissing his teamates and coches.tebow is better than y'all. Who made this stupid website
-1
... written by GayBaptist,
March 23, 2012
I normally agree that someone's sexual orientation is a matter of their own choice on whether they come out or not. But when Tim Tebow is anti-gay and makes his faith part of his persona as a player, it is an issue. It is one thing to be closeted but it is another when you profess to be against something that you very well may be. A growing number of denominations accept that someone can be both Christian and gay. The Evangelical Lutheran Church, Presbyterian Church, USA, Episcopal Church and the Alliance of Baptists among them. So If Tim is gay, he could find support and a home as a Christian as well as being gay.
Wow! This is one of the more ridiculous articles I've come across lately. There's so much wrong here I don't know where to begin! First, proposing that Tebow could be an openly gay athlete, eventually, while he is a conservative evangelical and opposed to homosexuality, is just plain moronic. Wishful thinking on the author's part, that's all. Are gay men so hungry for positive role models or representatives that are "branding" heterosexual men as gay? Second, his "gestures" are gay?! Wait a minute...I thought gay men were always telling everyone not to judge a book by its cover: you can't tell if a guy is gay just by looking at him, but that's exactly what the writer is doing because Tim Tebow talks with his hands? Obviously he hasn't spent much time around older Italian and Jewish men who 'talk with their hands'- they must all be gay too! Third, and maybe most offensive, is the suggestion that Tebow has to be hiding part of himself or must be deeply ignorant of himself, like this writer knows more about the man than Tebow himself knows! And the gay guy who wrote that he was married but then 'found' himself to be truly a gay man. But he could have sex with a woman??? If you don't find women, or at least their parts, attractive, you can't 'do the deed.' Physically impossible. If you choose to define yourself as gay, homosexual, whatever, that's your business, but enough with the PC bull about 'sexual orientation.' Its sexual preference for a lot of these guys, like that writer demonstrates. Emotion, upbringing, genetics...all goes into the equation. Who is anyone to tell a man about his 'orienation' or what he feels inside? Ridiculous, indeed. And even if Tebow does have an attraction to men, and chose not to act upon it, isn't that his business? I mean, what happened to personal freedom and being true to yourself? Don't gay men believe in that? Only the individual knows what is right for him, not some self-appointed experts or 'gay community.' If the writer is on to something and Tebow has 'gay' feelings and keeps it secret, that's nobody's business but his. It is not his duty to some imaginary community to go to a gay bar and let strange men f*ck him in the butt in order to be 'true' to himself. Gay 'men' need to grow up and be men, not lame stereotypes.
You guys are jerks. Tim Tebow is a devout Christian. I don't think he's gay you idiots!
