How do you gauge the character of a man? (UPDATED)

Bear with me on this one.

We are all flawed individuals.  We're all sinners.  So let's get that part out of the way.  But there should still exist a means by which the measure of a man can be taken, by which we can determine whether or not he is someone you'd want to hang with, someone you'd want your children to look up to, someone you'd want your daughter or niece to marry.

A few of these metrics come to mind quickly.

How does said man treat women in general and his wife/girlfriend in particular?

Is he a man of evidentiary faith?

Is he compassionate and charitable?

You may have your own list of traits that we're likely to agree help measure how much of a man men truly are.

I'm about to add another, though this one I'm sure might have its detractors.

Are you ready for this one?  

What does said man think of Tim Tebow?

This past week, I was exposed to two sports writers who had never really registered even the tiniest of blips on my there-goes-a-man-of-character radar.  Not because of anything in particular that they've done or not done before but because I've never really seen or heard anything from either of them that had captured my attention.

Until these last couple of days.

Let's first deal with ESPN's Merril Hoge:

So much for the whole bearing good tidings thing. In a roundtable discussion on Monday morning'sSportsCenter, ESPN analyst Merril Hoge went on a rant about New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, saying that he's "as phony as a three-dollar bill" and that the New York Jets didn't realize "how bad Tim Tebow was" when they traded for him.

Fellow analyst Ron Jaworski tries to defend Tebow's handling of his yearlong situation with the Jets while insider Adam Schefter attempts to relay a conversation he had with Tebow late Sunday night regarding theESPN New York report that he asked out of the Wildcat formation for the team's game with San Diego. While both are given time to make their points, they are just lulls between Hoge's fury-laden sound bites.

"He is not going to win for the Jacksonville Jaguars. All he will do is set the franchise back further if that is a possible feat," Hoge said. "This organization is down as far as you can get. The last person they need is a guy like this now that we're starting to see his true colors."

What was it that set Merril Hoge off you might be asking?

Apparently, the same thing that set Jets beat reporter Peter Schwartz off:

With every media session involving Tim Tebow that came and went, there was something bizarre about our chats with the Jets’ new backup quarterback.

He really sounded like a phony.

And now it’s obvious that the first impressions of Tebow were correct.

It should not come as a surprise that reports indicate that Tebow opted out of the wildcat package for Sunday’s game against the Chargers when he was told that Greg McElroy would get the start over him. Tebow’s “I’ll do whatever I can to help the team” pledge from the day that the Jets acquired him turned out to be nothing but utter nonsense.

Tebow is not the good teammate that we all thought he was and now it seems as if reports about him being a bad apple in the locker room are true. What does it say about someone, who has captivated the world with his religious faith, doesn’t want to be a part of the game plan to help his team win?

There's only one problem Mr. Hoge and Mr. Schwartz.  One huge fly in your Tim Tebow Hate Soup.  That fly happens to be Rex Ryan:

Ryan acknowledged Monday that Tebow wasn't happy when the coach chose Greg McElroy to start for the benched Mark Sanchez, but insisted Tebow was willing to play in any role Sunday against San Diego - including the wildcat.

''He was disappointed, there's no question,'' Ryan said Monday. ''He was disappointed that he was not named the starter, but with that being said, I'm not going to get into private conversations that I have with players, but it was my decision to use Jeremy Kerley in the wildcat, without question.

''But I'll say this: I believe if Tim's number was called, he would've went in and played. I don't think there's any doubt about that.''

In other words, there was no basis for which Hoge and Schwartz unleashed their venom for Tebow.  None whatsoever.  Of course, this isn't the first time they've done so.  Hoge in particular has a history of Tebow hatred since the latter entered into the NFL.

And so I, with a firmness and resolve I'd be hardpressed to give up, am making a decree.

Merril Hoge and Peter Schwartz have no integrity, no class, no character.

I wouldn't turn my back on either of them.  I find them each to be deplorable and pity their loved ones.

The sort of hate they have for Tim Tebow is based in my view on their own hatred of religion in general, Christianity in particular and Mr. Tebow specifically.  It seems more than obvious to me.

Unlike either of them however, I'm open to having my mind changed.  If you have evidence that would suggest I'm full of crap, leave it in the comments but quite frankly and bluntly, I'm willing to bet this post's comment thread will remain largely empty.

UPDATE: It's becoming clearer that Hoge and Schwartz are simply haters:

Tim Tebow said that he never asked out of running Wildcat plays last week, but the Jets’ backup quarterback acknowledges that Rex Ryan may have misunderstood him.

Tebow said on Wednesday that he told Ryan last Tuesday that he was “definitely disappointed” he wasn’t going to be the starting quarterback in place of the benched Mark Sanchez, and added that he told the coach he wanted to play “regular quarterback.”

“I never said, ‘Hey, I don’t want to do anything,’” Tebow said. “That wasn’t the talk at all. He knows that. And everybody on this team knows that I would never not do something if I was asked. That’s what’s disappointing. People saying,‘Oh, you quit, or you didn’t do this.’ That was not it at all. It was just me asking to get an opportunity to play the position I love, which is quarterback. It wasn’t me asking out of anything.”

My brother summed things up nicely when he wrote on his Facebook wall, "Hoge retired due to excessive concussions. Based on his tirade I'd say he is still a jelly brain."

Excessive concussions, maybe but more likely, Hoge's problem, and Schwartz' along with him, is simple hatred for a man of faith.

And that's a soul problem.

Yea, I went there.  Confidently.

Comments

[Vince Lombardi]

Tebow showed his lack of character when he picked the pot smoking criminal Gaytors...you are who you keep company with and UF is a cesspool of people we dont need in our society.

[Locutisprime]

Ouch! Ole Vince came back from death for that critique eh? Really? The pot smoking criminal gators? I imagine they are the only team out there below reproach. Nay say anything about the venerated USC or the rock solid Auburn Tigers. Or a dozen other schools that have smucks for head coaches. And that doesn't even take into consideration Penn State.

You are wrong rick, you will obviously get a couple of comments on this one.

My observations are thus. These two frat boy journalists have nothing on the wider group of illegitimate purveyors of the same crap.

They all hate Tebow for the same reason. He has faith and character and that is something they each abhor.

PS, I have no use for the Gators as i am a die hard UGA fan, but I do give credit where credit is due, particularly when it is earned. Tebow earned my respect and he still has it Vince, now pull the dirt back over yourself and go back to sleep.

[Brian]

Very interesting comment, Mr. Lombardi. Jesus surrounded himself with drunkards, prostitutes and criminals. How do you judge Him?

(I'm not suggesting Tebow is the Messiah. Just that the argument you're only as good as the company you keep is demonstrably false.)

[Vince Lombardi]

You Locutisprime..and you Mr. Brian, if that is your real name...you just shut up. I'll have you know that when I was coaching, NONE of my players EVER displayed any behavior that was anything less than morally perfect. They were all a bunch of modern-day Messiahs, I tell you...no drinking, no pep pills, no pain meds, no smoking and CERTAINLY no chasing dames! So you tow just stifle..cuz I know what I'm talking about!

[Locutisprime]

Wow...an impressive impersonation you got going there vince You troll often? ;-)

[tim aka The Godless Heathen]

School being out and all...