One reason I watch sports is that occasionally it provides terrific unscripted theater. The end of the college football game on Saturday between the universities of Florida and Alabama provided one such moment. With a minute to go and the game out of reach for Florida, their brilliant quarterback Tim Tebow, a Heisman trophy winner who hadn’t lost a game in 3 years, broke into tears on the sidelines.
Watching a star football player weep seems to be an invitation to many fans to hurl gender-based insults. After the game, web post-ers wondered why Tebow had“cried like a girl,” said he “didn’t take the loss like a man,” and called him a “drama queen” and worse.
I certainly think there are better things to cry about than losing a football game. Losing your job, say, or losing a loved one, or even losing a Presidential election, especially if you worked hard for your candidate. So I understand the argument that Tebow’s response was overblown. Then again—a college football player’s life is football, and losing a big game really does mean fewer opportunities, from fewer endorsement contracts to less national exposure to a smaller salary when they turn professional. So a whole lot was at stake for Tim Tebow.
There’s nothing wrong with suggesting that there are inappropriate times to cry. But the idea that it’s wrong (or girly) for men to cry is sexist and offensive. It’s time to discard the limited view that permits only a certain range of behaviors to men. So give Tim Tebow a break. After all, on the album 1970’s album Free to Be You and Me, the song “It’s All Right to Cry” was performed by none other than pro football star Rosy Grier.
Steve
