Tim Tebow Blackballed: No Insight on Future Plans with NFL
Eleven days after Tim Tebow was cut from the New York Jets, his future plans still remain uncertain.
Tebow has not spoken publicly about his dismissal or what he will do next, and didn't offer any insight Thursday night during a roughly hour-long keynote address to a crowd close to 3,000 at Lake Michigan College.
Tebow was asked to give the lecture as part of the Economic Club of Southwest Michigan's annual speaker series. Tebow was booked fo the gig last summer, when he was still an active player with the NFL. Tebow refused to take any questions at the press event about his future career plans and avoided crowds when he left out the back door with police escorts.
The 25-year-old - wearing a dark suit and purple tie - sat onstage and engaged in an easygoing exchange with the event's moderator. Refusing to touch on the events of the past two weeks, Tebow instead spoke about his competitive nature, Christian faith, his love of family and his record-setting high school and college careers. Tebow briefly touched on his rookie season with the Denver Broncos, when he led the team to an unexpected playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tebow said nothing about the Jets dismissing him, how it makes it feel and what he plans to do now.
The closest Tebow came to giving any insight into what he might do next was when he repeated one of his favorite sayings: "I don't know what the future holds, but at the end of the day I know who holds my future." The saying is to Tebow a reference to a strong faith that remains a driving force in his life.
Last season, Tebow got few chances from Jets coach Rex Ryan. Nonetheless, a Forbes.com survey recently released called Tebow America's "most influential athlete in sports in 2013."
Tebow spoke of how he finds fulfillment outside of the game.
"What I want to do with my life is impact lives. When a kid in a hospital is fighting for his life and I'm trying to win a football game, what really matters? This game isn't as important as a lot of us make it out to be. If I can give him a little bit of hope, I can do something that matters. That's what I want my legacy to be about. That's how I want to be remembered."
