This week Jaden Ivey was cut from the Chicago Bulls following an Instagram livestream where he took a stance against the NBA celebrating homosexuality. His termination was labeled as conduct detrimental to the team, and immediately, rumors about his behavior surfaced in sports media. Christians rallied around Ivey as his being cut from the team for opposing degeneracy was seen as a small form of persecution. But is this true or is Jaden Ivey simply a Tim Tebow?
Understanding Tebow Time
Tim Tebow was a Florida Gator Heisman Trophy winner whose faith played a role in his early exit from the NFL. Tebow put up high school quarterback numbers in the NFL, even having a game with only 8 pass attempts. However, the Broncos won their way into the playoffs, and Tebow’s quick pass in overtime was caught and broke open for a touchdown in an upset against the Mike Tomlin-led Steelers that would go on to lose many more playoff games. The Broncos cinderella story would have its midnight in a blowout loss to the Patriots the next week. In the offseason, the Broncos swiftly upgraded to Peyton Manning at quarterback.
Tim Tebow’s praying on the sideline became a meme, and it also became a distraction. Despite the on-field wins, Tebow was always an athlete playing quarterback, making him a first round bust. Nevertheless, people on the right wrote articles insisting that he deserved to be the backup quarterback on the New York Jets.
Jaden Ivey Comparison
Jaden Ivey was also a first-round pick who did not live up to potential. Over the last two seasons, he has been riddled with injuries and traded from the Pistons to the Bulls. But prior to injury, Ivey showed potential amid inconsistency.
In sports, there is a relationship between production and distraction. The antics of good players, like Dennis Rodman, are tolerated, and the ones of bad players are not. Jaden Ivey’s injury might not make him a bad player but he was unavailable, at least according to the Bulls, and thus did not have much room to be a disruption.
Jaden Ivey is a figure with a wild backstory, including sexual abuse as a child, pornography addiction, suicidal ideation, and being an abusive husband. However, he has converted to Christianity and has a zealous young faith that any believer should find endearing. Sanctification begins where a person meets Christ. He’s not particularly articulate, but he knows what the Bible says about pride and homosexuality.Â
Conclusion
The NBA is the most anti-Christian sports league that Americans care about. It has long been supportive of homosexuality, even 15 years ago. The narrative coming from the Bulls that Ivey was uniquely aggressive in imposing religion on people reads as a counternarrative being spun after he was cut for opposing homosexuality. Assuming Jaden Ivey heals properly from injury, he comes with a lot of potential upside for an NBA franchise to take a chance on.
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One Response
I support Ivey but it’s true if he was an all star he wouldn’t have been cut. I always thought Tebow avoided saying important things while playing. Probably even now to keep his commentator job.