What is it with the sports media's seeming obsession to take athletes' comments out of context recently? I already wrote about how this occurred with Washington Redskins starting quarterback Robert Griffin III last week, when a solid majority of the sports media focused on a small percentage of his quote, only drawing attention to the words, "RG III thinks he's the best quarterback in the league," and completely missing his intent and point with the full quote.
This week, it's Detroit Lions safety Glover Quin's turn. When being asked about Green Bay Packers receiver Jordy Nelson's season-ending injury, a majority of headlines from the sports media only quoted Quin as saying, "God meant for Jordy to get hurt."
His full quote is as follows:
"I hated Jordy got hurt, but in my beliefs, and the way I believe, it was - God meant for Jordy to get hurt. So if he wouldn't have got hurt today, if he wouldn't have played in that game, if he wouldn't have practiced anymore, and the next time he walked on the field would have been opening day, I feel like he would have got hurt opening day.
So in that sense, now they've got three weeks to make adjustments and prepare before opening day, as opposed to it happening opening day and now you're in the season and now Jordy gets hurt. It happening in the preseason, you hate that it happened, but that gives them time to make adjustments and try to find something."
After receiving backlash from the media about his comments, here's how Quin responded:
"I didn't wish bad on Jordy - I spent five minutes saying how I had sympathy for Jordy. I felt bad for Jordy. I feel bad for anybody that gets injured like this in the NFL. No way did I say anything bad about Jordy. I didn't say God hates Jordy. I didn't say any of that stuff. I do believe in my heart of hearts that what is meant to be will be - that's what I believe. That's the way I live my life.
Things happen to me, good or bad, and I say, 'OK, what does God want me to learn from this?'"
In other words, Glover Quin seems to believe that God has a plan for everybody, that everything happens for a reason, and all of that mumbo jumbo. So he had no ill intent with his statement, and most of the sports media decided to twist that intent into something it wasn't. So yes, even though the sports media will likely argue with me about this, they were guilty of quote mining, or contextomy, with regard to Quin's comments, just like they were with Robert Griffin's.
Getting that out of the way, though, I still take issue with Quin's comments, especially when looking at them in conjunction with another he made recently. In addition to the quote where Quin was taken out of context and his response to the media backlash, he also made the following statement:
"I don't just sit here and say God gives me a win, because the other team is praying for wins too. But I do ask God to keep me healthy, to keep me focused, to help me play to the best of my abilities.
If our team is better than the other team, and we all stay healthy, and all stay focused, and we all play to the best of our abilities, then our team will probably win. And if we don't, the other team will probably win."
It's not that Glover Quin had any ill intent when he made the comments regarding Jordy Nelson, it's just that his comments don't make a lick of sense. Let's again look at all three Quin quotes:
1) "I hated Jordy got hurt, but in my beliefs, and the way I believe, it was - God meant for Jordy to get hurt. So if he wouldn't have got hurt today, if he wouldn't have played in that game, if he wouldn't have practiced anymore, and the next time he walked on the field would have been opening day, I feel like he would have got hurt opening day.
So in that sense, now they've got three weeks to make adjustments and prepare before opening day, as opposed to it happening opening day and now you're in the season and now Jordy gets hurt. It happening in the preseason, you hate that it happened, but that gives them time to make adjustments and try to find something."
2) "I didn't wish bad on Jordy - I spent five minutes saying how I had sympathy for Jordy. I felt bad for Jordy. I feel bad for anybody that gets injured like this in the NFL. No way did I say anything bad about Jordy. I didn't say God hates Jordy. I didn't say any of that stuff. I do believe in my heart of hearts that what is meant to be will be - that's what I believe. That's the way I live my life.
Things happen to me, good or bad, and I say, 'OK, what does God want me to learn from this?'"
3) "I don't just sit here and say God gives me a win, because the other team is praying for wins too. But I do ask God to keep me healthy, to keep me focused, to help me play to the best of my abilities.
If our team is better than the other team, and we all stay healthy, and all stay focused, and we all play to the best of our abilities, then our team will probably win. And if we don't, the other team will probably win."
So, let me get this straight, according to Glover Quin and others with his mentality, while God has a plan for everyone, and due to that, our fates are inevitably in the hands of God, he doesn't decide the outcome of football games, doesn't determine players' focus, or players' abilities? So, he determines our fates, but doesn't? Um, okay... This isn't a personal attack on Glover Quin, for I've heard a lot of predeterminists spout such rhetoric before, but when they combine that with the concept of free will, I can't help but give them the are-you-crazy look. Yes, according to them, that look was likely predetermined by God, yet it was still my call. I know, it really doesn't make much sense to me either.
Also, while Quin may not have intended this, when looking at all his comments, he comes across as thinking, "God currently loves me more than Jordy Nelson, and due to that, love the Detroit Lions more than the Green Bay Packers."
In his third quote, he talked about praying to God to keep him healthy, keep him focused, help him play to the best of his abilities, and with that, help his team in those three areas as well. In his first two quotes, he talked about how God has a plan for everyone, everything happens for a reason, and due to that, Jordy Nelson's injury was in God's hands. So, Glover Quin prayed to God to keep him healthy, and to this point, that prayer has been answered, which is a testament to God's plans, yet Jordy Nelson hasn't received that same fate, once again, due to the hands of God. So does Glover Quin truly believe God favors him over Jordy Nelson or loves the Detroit Lions more than the Green Bay Packers? Really? When's the last time the Lions won a Super Bowl again? Okay then...
When all is said and done, yes, the sports media took Glover Quin's comments out of context, yet at the same time, I can't for the life of me understand Quin's comments to begin with. Well, I best be going now. I'm going to do something God has predetermined for me to do yet is my own choice. Wish me luck!
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2015/08/lions_glover_quin_offers_no_ap.html
This week, it's Detroit Lions safety Glover Quin's turn. When being asked about Green Bay Packers receiver Jordy Nelson's season-ending injury, a majority of headlines from the sports media only quoted Quin as saying, "God meant for Jordy to get hurt."
His full quote is as follows:
"I hated Jordy got hurt, but in my beliefs, and the way I believe, it was - God meant for Jordy to get hurt. So if he wouldn't have got hurt today, if he wouldn't have played in that game, if he wouldn't have practiced anymore, and the next time he walked on the field would have been opening day, I feel like he would have got hurt opening day.
So in that sense, now they've got three weeks to make adjustments and prepare before opening day, as opposed to it happening opening day and now you're in the season and now Jordy gets hurt. It happening in the preseason, you hate that it happened, but that gives them time to make adjustments and try to find something."
After receiving backlash from the media about his comments, here's how Quin responded:
"I didn't wish bad on Jordy - I spent five minutes saying how I had sympathy for Jordy. I felt bad for Jordy. I feel bad for anybody that gets injured like this in the NFL. No way did I say anything bad about Jordy. I didn't say God hates Jordy. I didn't say any of that stuff. I do believe in my heart of hearts that what is meant to be will be - that's what I believe. That's the way I live my life.
Things happen to me, good or bad, and I say, 'OK, what does God want me to learn from this?'"
In other words, Glover Quin seems to believe that God has a plan for everybody, that everything happens for a reason, and all of that mumbo jumbo. So he had no ill intent with his statement, and most of the sports media decided to twist that intent into something it wasn't. So yes, even though the sports media will likely argue with me about this, they were guilty of quote mining, or contextomy, with regard to Quin's comments, just like they were with Robert Griffin's.
Getting that out of the way, though, I still take issue with Quin's comments, especially when looking at them in conjunction with another he made recently. In addition to the quote where Quin was taken out of context and his response to the media backlash, he also made the following statement:
"I don't just sit here and say God gives me a win, because the other team is praying for wins too. But I do ask God to keep me healthy, to keep me focused, to help me play to the best of my abilities.
If our team is better than the other team, and we all stay healthy, and all stay focused, and we all play to the best of our abilities, then our team will probably win. And if we don't, the other team will probably win."
It's not that Glover Quin had any ill intent when he made the comments regarding Jordy Nelson, it's just that his comments don't make a lick of sense. Let's again look at all three Quin quotes:
1) "I hated Jordy got hurt, but in my beliefs, and the way I believe, it was - God meant for Jordy to get hurt. So if he wouldn't have got hurt today, if he wouldn't have played in that game, if he wouldn't have practiced anymore, and the next time he walked on the field would have been opening day, I feel like he would have got hurt opening day.
So in that sense, now they've got three weeks to make adjustments and prepare before opening day, as opposed to it happening opening day and now you're in the season and now Jordy gets hurt. It happening in the preseason, you hate that it happened, but that gives them time to make adjustments and try to find something."
2) "I didn't wish bad on Jordy - I spent five minutes saying how I had sympathy for Jordy. I felt bad for Jordy. I feel bad for anybody that gets injured like this in the NFL. No way did I say anything bad about Jordy. I didn't say God hates Jordy. I didn't say any of that stuff. I do believe in my heart of hearts that what is meant to be will be - that's what I believe. That's the way I live my life.
Things happen to me, good or bad, and I say, 'OK, what does God want me to learn from this?'"
3) "I don't just sit here and say God gives me a win, because the other team is praying for wins too. But I do ask God to keep me healthy, to keep me focused, to help me play to the best of my abilities.
If our team is better than the other team, and we all stay healthy, and all stay focused, and we all play to the best of our abilities, then our team will probably win. And if we don't, the other team will probably win."
So, let me get this straight, according to Glover Quin and others with his mentality, while God has a plan for everyone, and due to that, our fates are inevitably in the hands of God, he doesn't decide the outcome of football games, doesn't determine players' focus, or players' abilities? So, he determines our fates, but doesn't? Um, okay... This isn't a personal attack on Glover Quin, for I've heard a lot of predeterminists spout such rhetoric before, but when they combine that with the concept of free will, I can't help but give them the are-you-crazy look. Yes, according to them, that look was likely predetermined by God, yet it was still my call. I know, it really doesn't make much sense to me either.
Also, while Quin may not have intended this, when looking at all his comments, he comes across as thinking, "God currently loves me more than Jordy Nelson, and due to that, love the Detroit Lions more than the Green Bay Packers."
In his third quote, he talked about praying to God to keep him healthy, keep him focused, help him play to the best of his abilities, and with that, help his team in those three areas as well. In his first two quotes, he talked about how God has a plan for everyone, everything happens for a reason, and due to that, Jordy Nelson's injury was in God's hands. So, Glover Quin prayed to God to keep him healthy, and to this point, that prayer has been answered, which is a testament to God's plans, yet Jordy Nelson hasn't received that same fate, once again, due to the hands of God. So does Glover Quin truly believe God favors him over Jordy Nelson or loves the Detroit Lions more than the Green Bay Packers? Really? When's the last time the Lions won a Super Bowl again? Okay then...
When all is said and done, yes, the sports media took Glover Quin's comments out of context, yet at the same time, I can't for the life of me understand Quin's comments to begin with. Well, I best be going now. I'm going to do something God has predetermined for me to do yet is my own choice. Wish me luck!
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2015/08/lions_glover_quin_offers_no_ap.html
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