Tim Tebow will pass on this brewing controversy. The Jets backup quarterback tweeted out on Thursday morning that he has canceled his April 28 speaking engagement at First Baptist Church in Dallas. The pastor at the church, Rev. Robert Jeffress, has said that “70 percent of the gay population” has AIDS and that Islam, Judaism and Mormonism are religions that come from “the pit of hell.” “While I was looking forward to sharing a message of hope and Christ's unconditional love with the faithful members of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas in April, due to new information that has been brought to my attention, I have decided to cancel my upcoming appearance,” Tebow wrote to his over 2 million followers on Twitter. “I will continue to use the platform God has blessed me with to bring Faith, Hope and Love to all those needing a brighter day. Thank you for all of your love and support. God Bless!” Tebow has used his platform as a popular NFL player to share his beliefs in the past. He talked at Arizona’s Impact Church in Scottsdale on Feb. 3 and spoke in front of 30,000 at the Celebration Church in Georgetown, Texas. His time with the Jets is unlikely to last much longer. The team, and new GM John Idzik, is expected to gauge his trade interested around the league at the scouting combine, which opens Thursday. If they don’t find any takers, a likely scenario, they will are expected to release him. Jeffress, meanwhile, has come under fire for his hateful comments. “There are a disproportionate amount of assaults against children by homosexuals than by heterosexuals, you can’t deny that,” he said in July. In November, he told his congregation that President Obama’s re-election was“paving the way for the future reign of the Antichrist.” Jeffress did say he will be changing the way he speaks about homosexuals from the pulpit – he’ll no longer single it out for special condemnation. “It would be the height of hypocrisy to condemn homosexuality and not adultery or unbiblical divorce,” Jeffress said.
"New" information, huh? This has been in the news for DAYS now, and he is just now finding out about it? What the hell are those people he is paying to book these kinds of things doing besides sleeping behind the wheel? A quick google check might have yielded red flags that woudl have given them pause and made them think, "hey, this might not be a good idea." Did he change his mind because they just fugured all of this out? Or is it because of the bad publicity that came out about it. In the end, Tebow's reputation and public image won out.
I can't believe that this is all over the internet. Its on the front page of NFL.com. Anyone else find this ridiculous?
I think it's likely Tebow didn't think the public backlash would be bad. I'm sure he knew he was supporting a very unpopular stance, but didn't realize the public would know he was openly supporting it. I am positive he's lying when he said he was unaware of Jeffress' previous comments and stances. Tebow is just looking out for the thing that is most important to him, his public image. I honestly don't know why anyone cares about where any of these athletes choose to speak on their own time, though.
WHO CARES!!??? This is a TOTAL, WASTE of BANDWIDTH!! "TE-BLOW DECIDES NOT TO SPEAK AT CHURCH THAT....." WTF does this have to do with the overall, NY JET Collective!!?? How does THIS THREAD (& forum altogether), provide any benefit/insight to newbie Jet fans!!?? Other than to provide a "platform" where Te-BlowManiacs & Te-BlowHaterz can do "battle", this forum should straight-up be deemed worthless, null & void & renamed & dedicated to a Jet alumni that's truly worth it! This thread PROVES "enuff is enuff"! Time to move forward even tho' the JETS continue to carry this enigma....... ....'jus sayin'!
Who cares is what I'm saying.. Who the hell cares that he's no speaking at a church. I understand if they write this article on the church's website or whatever, but on NFL.com? Really?
