Yankees Affiliate Mocks Tim Tebow, Then Apologizes

The Charleston Riverdogs, a minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees, got into a bit of unintended hot water recently when the team “mocked” Tim Tebow before a game. The Riverdogs mascot had “John 3:16” written in eye black under his eyes, something that Tebow had under his eyes before every game while at Florida State, in a photo that was captioned “I’ve caught Tebow fever.” Apparently some fans and people didn’t take too well to this impersonation and the affiliate issued an apology.

The Riverdogs state that they were merely poking fun at Tebow’s fame, not his religion like some thought, when the mascot “Tebowed” getting down on one knee and issued the following statement:

“Our intent was not to offend anyone and for the fact that we did offend, we are sorry.” Dave Echols said, the team’s general manager.

I am sorry, and maybe I am being a bit insensitive here, but if Tebow were not so open about his religion I don’t think this would be that big of a deal. Not to downplay harassment or anything like that but there is a fine line between malicious intent and playful banter. Minor League Baseball is full of playful banter and I truly don’t think, and maybe I’m bias, there was any malcontent intended here. Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t know. Leave your thoughts below in the comments section?