Let’s face it. A New York City tabloid is going to do what a New York City tabloid is going to do.
So, if you had to make a prediction, what do you think would be in the lede of a New York Daily News report about Tim Tebow marring a woman who had been named Miss Universe?
Think it through. What aspect of Tebow’s life have more than a few journalists (and activists with lower motives) probed ever since That Press Conference during his playing days at the University of Florida?
So here we go:
Tim Tebow has scored.
The former NFL quarterback and current Mets minor leaguer, who has said he planned to remain a virgin until he gets hitched, is now a married man.
Tebow wed 2017 Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters in Cape Town, South Africa, about a year after getting engaged, People reported.
Believe it or not, the Page Six team at The New York Post stayed quite tame, with: “Tim Tebow marries former Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters.” I don’t know what I expected, but that wasn’t the Post headline I thought that we would see.
So what was the story here?
On one level, of course, this was a celebrity wedding. Thus, the stories had all the details about the bride’s gown, the groom’s tux, the menu for the reception (Tebow has a special diet when he is in training for baseball), etc., etc. Readers also need to know why Tebow has been so controversial, in the first place. Thus, the Daily News tossed in this passage late in the story:
Tebow’s personal life has been a hot topic over the years, including him stating in 2009 that he planned to practice abstinence until marriage due to his Christian faith. He proposed to Nel-Peters in January 2019 at his family’s farm near Jacksonville, Fla.
In addition to his baseball career, Tebow works as a college football analyst for ESPN’s SEC Network.
USA Today offered a kind of wink-wink passage high in its report, centering on Tebow’s expectations about this event:
“I’ve been looking forward to three things,” Tebow told People. “The first moment I see her in her wedding dress, the first kiss, and the first dance together as man and wife. It’s such a special night.
“I’ve been waiting my entire life for someone special, who I can spend the rest of my life with. I was waiting for the right person to come along. And now I’m marrying Demi. I can’t wait to see what our future holds. All of my dreams have come true. It was 100 percent worth the wait.”
However, there is another story — a very touching, emotional story — linked to this event that I cannot believe journalists have not chased with more enthusiasm (I am not kidding).
So we have the celebrity stud athlete marrying a beauty queen. How stereotypical. Right?
But how did they meet?
That brings us to the Tim Tebow Foundation and its “Night to Shine” events — offering proms for young people with severe handicaps of all kinds, mental and physical. This has been a cause Tebow has enthusiastically backed his whole adult life. Watch the video in this post.
As it turns out, Tebow met his future wife at one of these proms — because this is her cause, as well.
Why? Consider this passage from a Daily Mail report on their engagement, drawn from an earlier GetReligion post on this topic:
Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters is a South African model and pageant queen. She was born in Sedgefield, Western Cape to parents Bennie Peters and Anne-Marie Steenkamp. Demi-Leigh has a half-sister called Franje who has a disability. She speaks often about her sister, whom she’s said is a source of inspiration for her.
‘My half-sister was born without a cerebellum and is completely disabled. She is my biggest motivator and inspiration, because her situation makes me realize how special life is and I always want to work twice as hard, enjoy life twice as much so that I can enjoy it for her as well. …”.
Thus, a Christian-market publication — The Christian Post staff caught a passing reference to this when Tebow was on the the “Today” show and talked about the young woman that he had just started dating:
“We actually met through one of our nonprofits called Night to Shine,” Tebow told Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb in September.
Night to Shine is a worldwide event sponsored by the Tebow Foundation for people with special needs.
“Her sister has special needs, so we invited them to Night to Shine in South Africa,” he continued. “We kind of met and started talking through that and haven’t stopped.”
So what’s the point?
I understand that, for many, the whole “Tebow scored” angle has to be covered. I understand that many people will see him as a famous athlete marrying a beauty queen.
My question: Where is Franje in these stories? Isn’t the role of the Night to Shine events an interesting part of this story? Isn’t that a unique twist?
Why aren’t more journalists interested in Franje and the sister — and now the sister’s husband — who helps care for her? Wouldn’t that story connect with many readers?
Just asking.
FIRST IMAGE: From Instagram.
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