I spoke with David last night, and he asked me to quote him in this piece. He said, “My interactions with Wade over the past few months are much more representative of my current beliefs toward the gay community than some tweets from several years ago. Christianity teaches us love, compassion, and respect for our fellow man, and it is in that light that I will continue to work with Wade and others to better serve the gay community. I would absolutely support any player on the Giants who identified as gay, in any way I could. And I will continue to stay in touch with Wade to ensure I am aware of the right ways to do that.”
This would have had more impact, IMHO, if Tyree had just come out and say this through his own channels rather than through someone else.
He was bold enough to use Twitter and other avenues to say what he said three years ago, it would have been just as easy to use those same means to say this.
wonders if the NYG PR dept had a hand in this epiphany post -Tyree hire. However any tolerance is good tolerance so heres hoping...
I don't think so, personally. Why hire guy with a planned media strategy to combat past remarks? Why not just hire someone else who wouldn't force you into that situation? I think David's likely changed his opinion. The Giants wouldn't have hired him if he didn't and this very article wouldn't exist if he didn't.
be honest here... a good portion of people who "think" they "hate" or dislike others based on race, sexual orientation etc simply are being ignorant/haven't been exposed to them.
as others have said, the idea that this group or that group is evil or wretched or what have you rarely survives sustained contact with members of said group. Except for gingers of course.
Anyone who goes out of his way to say he's not part of a PR campaign.. Â
... is probably part of a PR campaign. Still a nice story, though.
Ultimately, I think Tyree's job performance will depend less on his ability to deal with the next Michael Sam or Roy Simmons than his handling of the next Will Hill.
That's exactly it
Tyee's opinion of gay people is clearly from lack of exposure
Prejudice is ignorance
So... Still begs the question - why couldn't they have made a better hire?
I was pretty critical of the Giants hiring of David Tyree the other day. I will listen to what Mr. Davis said and give David a chance.
Well done both men.
Are we unwilling to offer compassion to those whose views may shock or offend us? Why has the default response now become to vilify and judge before we seek to ask questions?
Completely on gay marriage after the first time I met a couple that wanted to get married. I have never seen two people more in love or more completely happy and it just struck me, who the hell am I to decide what's right for anyone else?
It's possible to change your view point once you are introduced to the thing you don't see or interact with that you may find uncomfortable or strange at first glance.
complicated feelings. While I think its incredibly closed-minded for someone to be against gay marriage, I would never automatically leap to saying that someone with that opinion also must be bigoted against gays. I think Tyree, in the heat of the Michael Sam discussions, pretty much got lumped into that rather unfairly. His views on marriage are ignorant but he has never shown anything that I'm aware of to indicate he's completely intolerant of gays.
"I don't want my kids to think homosexuals are normal."
Now, he may have, as the article indicates, softened on this, but there's no mistake that, at one point, he took a position far worse than simply not agreeing with gay marriage.
I guess my comments are more related to how this has been playing out in the national media, because generally the only thing that has been referred to was his Twitter comments.
If he said that about his kids and homosexuals then I definitely think thats very telling about his mindset. But I don't think his stance on gay marriage alone is enough to assess his ability to do the job without prejudice.
there are far too many people who aren't exposed to the variety of people on the planet and when you combine that with fear of the unknown, you end up with bigotry against folks different than you and I.
We have learned a lot from our parents but sometimes it isn't easy to differentiate between what they knew as fact and what they've concluded subjectively.
I am a fan of David Thorne whom you may recall from his hilarious blog including such gems as Missing Missy!
He describes what we may experience at our jobs but doesn't this carry into our lives as we try to tell each other what's "right"?
"I once read about five monkeys that were placed in a room with a banana at the top of a set of stairs. As one monkey attempted to climb the stairs, all of the monkeys were sprayed with jets of cold water. A second monkey made an attempt and again the monkeys were sprayed. No more monkeys attempted to climb the stairs. One of the monkeys was then removed from the room and replaced with a new monkey. New monkey saw the banana and started to climb the stairs but to its surprise, it was attacked by the other monkeys. Another of the original monkeys was replaced and the newcomer was also attacked when he attempted to climb the stairs. The previous newcomer took part in the punishment with enthusiasm. Replacing a third original monkey with a new one, it headed for the stairs and was attacked as well. Half of the monkeys that attacked him had no idea why. After replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, none had ever been sprayed with cold water but all stayed the fuck away from the stairs.
Being here longer than me doesn't automatically make your adherence to a rule, or the rule itself, right. It makes you the fifth replacement monkey. The one with the weird red arse and the first to point and screech when anyone approaches the stairs. I would be the sixth monkey, at home in bed trying to come up with a viable excuse not to spend another fruitless day locked in a room with five neurotic monkeys."
This would have had more impact, IMHO, if Tyree had just come out and say this through his own channels rather than through someone else.
He was bold enough to use Twitter and other avenues to say what he said three years ago, it would have been just as easy to use those same means to say this.
I don't think so, personally. Why hire guy with a planned media strategy to combat past remarks? Why not just hire someone else who wouldn't force you into that situation? I think David's likely changed his opinion. The Giants wouldn't have hired him if he didn't and this very article wouldn't exist if he didn't.
Whether you think he's being genuine or not, I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt until he shows otherwise.
Yay right to free speech!
Attica! Attica!
Free GWG! (wonder if he's mad a Tyree now for not dropping a "fag" or "dicksuck" in that quote?)
I'm glad David has this friendship.
Seems rude, at the least.
Ultimately, I think Tyree's job performance will depend less on his ability to deal with the next Michael Sam or Roy Simmons than his handling of the next Will Hill.
Tyee's opinion of gay people is clearly from lack of exposure
Prejudice is ignorance
So... Still begs the question - why couldn't they have made a better hire?
Well done both men.
My sentiments exactly!
It's possible to change your view point once you are introduced to the thing you don't see or interact with that you may find uncomfortable or strange at first glance.
"I don't want my kids to think homosexuals are normal."
Now, he may have, as the article indicates, softened on this, but there's no mistake that, at one point, he took a position far worse than simply not agreeing with gay marriage.
If he said that about his kids and homosexuals then I definitely think thats very telling about his mindset. But I don't think his stance on gay marriage alone is enough to assess his ability to do the job without prejudice.
I'm hoping the article is correct and that he has come around to some extent. If nothing else, for the Giants sake.
We have learned a lot from our parents but sometimes it isn't easy to differentiate between what they knew as fact and what they've concluded subjectively.
I am a fan of David Thorne whom you may recall from his hilarious blog including such gems as Missing Missy!
He describes what we may experience at our jobs but doesn't this carry into our lives as we try to tell each other what's "right"?
"I once read about five monkeys that were placed in a room with a banana at the top of a set of stairs. As one monkey attempted to climb the stairs, all of the monkeys were sprayed with jets of cold water. A second monkey made an attempt and again the monkeys were sprayed. No more monkeys attempted to climb the stairs. One of the monkeys was then removed from the room and replaced with a new monkey. New monkey saw the banana and started to climb the stairs but to its surprise, it was attacked by the other monkeys. Another of the original monkeys was replaced and the newcomer was also attacked when he attempted to climb the stairs. The previous newcomer took part in the punishment with enthusiasm. Replacing a third original monkey with a new one, it headed for the stairs and was attacked as well. Half of the monkeys that attacked him had no idea why. After replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, none had ever been sprayed with cold water but all stayed the fuck away from the stairs.
Being here longer than me doesn't automatically make your adherence to a rule, or the rule itself, right. It makes you the fifth replacement monkey. The one with the weird red arse and the first to point and screech when anyone approaches the stairs. I would be the sixth monkey, at home in bed trying to come up with a viable excuse not to spend another fruitless day locked in a room with five neurotic monkeys."