More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.
At the top of Monday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer announced Tim Tebow's return to football by proclaiming: "...one of the most popular and polarizing quarterbacks in NFL history returning to the game after three years." In another tease minutes later, fellow co-host Savannah Guthrie wondered: "Is this a second chance or a publicity stunt?"
At the top of the 7:30 a.m. ET hour correspondent Craig Melvin repeated the "popular and polarizing quarterback" line and wondered: "Has Tebow's NFL career been resurrected?" He highlighted how Tebow's Christian faith made him the subject of ridicule: "The combination of faith and football became fodder for late-night TV." A clip followed of a Saturday Night Live skit mocking Tebow.