A couple of weeks ago, after agreeing to speak at bigoted Pastor Robert Jeffress‘ church, quarterback Tim Tebow changed his mind. He said it was “due to new information that has been brought to my attention.”

What new information was that? Well, you could have taken your pick:

He called Mormomism a “cult” during last year’s Presidential campaign. (As if other religions were perfectly normal.) He also said: “It’s a fact that [AIDS is] a gay disease so there’s a reasonable reason to exclude gays from the military.” He once called Planned Parenthood a “slaughterhouse for the unborn.” Then there was the time he warned other pastors that if they didn’t tell their congregations to vote for the “right” candidate, they were… … no different than German Lutheran pastors who didn’t speak out against Hitler’s growing influence And we can’t forget the time he asked: “Do we want a candidate who is a good, moral person — or one who is a born-again follower of the lord Jesus Christ?”

Ultimately, it was agreed by both sides that Tebow would avoid Jeffress’ church in order to stay out of any controversy.

After all that, you have to wonder why Tebow plans to speak this weekend at a conference hosted by a far worse place: Liberty University, founded by the late Jerry Falwell:

Brian Tashman points out the obvious: Jeffress’ comments may have been bad, but the things said by Liberty’s administration and faculty are waaaaaay worse:

Damn right. And that list is just the tip of the iceberg.

Tebow is free to visit any place he wants to promote his brand of evangelical Christianity, but we can all shine a spotlight on it and let the world know that Tebow is no role model. His participation lends credence to the awful ideas (and miseducation) promoted by this “university,” not to mention the whole idea of a “men’s conference” centered around sports and the outdoors (because, of course, no women like either of those things).

David Badash also points out that Tebow’s speaking engagement raises another question: What exactly was that “new information” that caused him to cancel his speech at Jeffress’ church?

It’s a question that sports reporters with access to him need to ask — because it would make for one hell of a story.



