At a banquet held by Kansans for Life on February 11, Tim Tebow affirmed that fighting for the rights of the unborn was more meaningful than winning the Super Bowl. Lamar Hunt, Jr., whose father founded the Kansas City Chiefs—the most recent Super Bowl champions—delivered opening remarks at the banquet. When Tebow got up to speak, he praised Hunt for “having courage” to support Kansans for Life.
“It really does mean a lot more than winning the Super Bowl,” said Tebow, according to National Right to Life (NRL) News. “One day, when you look back and people are talking about you and they say, ‘Oh my gosh what are you going to be known for?’ Are you going to say Super Bowl, or we saved a lot of babies?”
Tebow at Kansans for Life: We’re on a Rescue Mission
Hunt did not pull any punches in his words to the crowd of nearly 1,200. He said,
I do not think it is a cliché to say we are in a life and death battle for the truth and authentic dignity of the human person. We need your full attention. You need to drop what you’re doing and join us, and this can be in so many ways: prayer, assistance to those in need, emails, phone calls, in-person meetings. Get educated about what we’re fighting about here. Really listen in and tune in.
Kansas City Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt was also present at the event, and when Tebow spoke, he told Hunt and Colquitt that while winning the Super Bowl was “amazing,” if they stewarded that achievement well, it could have an even greater purpose. Said the Heisman Trophy winner, “What an accomplishment! But you know the best part of that accomplishment is that it gets you an even bigger platform”—a platform they can use to save children’s lives.
Fighting for the lives of the unborn is more than a charitable cause, said Tebow, but is rather “a rescue mission.” That term is significant because “it puts a timeline on it.” He went on to explain, “When’s the last time you heard a rescue mission taking place in a month or a few years? No, a rescue mission means now. It gives you a sense of urgency. It says we have to go not because it’s our time, but because it’s their time…while I might have time, they don’t.”
The pro-life cause is a personal one for Tim Tebow. In 1986, Tebow’s father prayed that God would give him one more child. But after Tebow’s mother, Pam, became pregnant, doctors told her she would die if she did not abort her son. “They didn’t even believe that I was a baby,” Tebow told the audience. “They thought I was a tumor.”
Pam Tebow chose, however, to see the pregnancy through, and she survived it. After Tebow was born, there was another surprise: the placenta had not been attached during the pregnancy. Pam’s doctor, who had been practicing for 37 years, told her, “This is the biggest miracle I’ve ever seen because I’m not sure how he’s alive.” Said Tebow, “I’m so grateful that my mom trusted God with my life and her life.”
Maintaining Perspective on What Matters
Speaking to Fox News shortly after his engagement, Tebow shared that while he is a driven athlete, his philanthropic work helps him to keep a healthy perspective on what truly matters. “Although I’m extremely competitive and driven in sports,” he said, “you’ve also got to remember that it’s just a game and that life is more important and people are more important and the way that you can impact them is more important.”
In addition to fighting for unborn children, Tim Tebow helps a variety of other vulnerable populations throughout the world. His foundation just sponsored the sixth annual Night to Shine event, which is a prom night celebrating people with special needs. At his CURE Hospital in the Philippines, children get to hear the gospel in addition to receiving medical care, and he also supports orphanages in several countries.
As he concluded his speech at the Kansans for Life banquet, Tebow affirmed the value of defending the vulnerable and challenged his listeners to be willing to suffer on their behalf:
What you’re doing here matters. You’re fighting for life. You’re fighting for people that can’t fight for themselves. And my question to you is: Are you willing to stand up in the face of persecution, in the face of adversity, in the face of criticism, when other people are going to say it’s not worth it, when other people won’t stand beside you? Maybe not everybody is going to be with you. Will you stand up for what’s right?
