Oh lord! See what I did there?! Lol. Tim Tebow is making headlines again and yes, it revolves around controversy! Check out what’s happening now after the jump…
According to TMZ:
Tim Tebow has officially yanked himself from a speaking engagement at a church in Dallas … after reports surfaced that he’d be sharing the pulpit with a preacher who has denounced Jews and gays.
Tebow was slated to speak at the First Baptist Church of Dallas in April … but moments ago, the NFL star tweeted:
“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.”
He continued, “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 made no specific references to the preacher who has made the homophobic and anti-Semitic statements — Dr. Robert Jeffress — but it’s pretty obvious Tebow realized the negative PR implications of being photographed next to the guy.
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Update:
Tim Tebow was unjustly pressured by the media to back out of his speaking appearance at the controversial First Baptist Church in Dallas … at least according to the church.
A rep for the church tells TMZ, “We are saddened that Mr. Tebow felt pressure to back out of his long-planned commitment from numerous New York and national sports and news media who grossly misrepresented past comments made by our pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress, specifically related to issues of homosexuality and AIDS, as well as Judaism.”
Rev. Jeffress has been quoted as saying, “70 percent of the gay population” has AIDS — and has described Judaism, Islam and Mormonism as religions from the “pit of hell.”
According to the church, Tebow called Dr. Jeffress Wednesday evening to say that for “personal and professional reasons he needed to avoid controversy” … and would be canceling the appearance which was scheduled for April 28.
The church says Tebow told Rev. Jeffress he’d still like to come speak at First Baptist Dallas sometime in the future — and adds, “Dr. Jeffress shares a message of hope, not hate.”
