Posted: 04/23/2010 at 6:02pm | IP Logged

Tebow: I Lost Endorsement Opportunities over Pro-Life Ad

by Kathleen Gilbert, LifeSiteNews.com

NASHVILLE, TN - Tim Tebow recently told a sold-out crowd at Lipscomb University that "multiple companies told him before the Super Bowl that they could not let him represent their products if he went ahead with his pro-life commercial at the Super Bowl," according to the Palm Beach Post.

However, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and pro-life celebrity went on to say that, "losing sponsors was a small price to pay for the ability to spread [my] message about family and faith."

The story of Tim and mother Pam Tebow, who was advised to abort Tim after she contracted amoebic dysentery while pregnant in the Philippines, was the center of a Focus on the Family-sponsored ad that ran during the Super Bowl in February. The ad became the center of a nationwide uproar after top pro-abortion groups, without ever having seen the ad, drew massive attention to it by lobbying CBS to reject it.

While the ad ultimately made no mention of abortion, and essentially directed viewers to the Focus on the Family website to learn the real story behind Tim's birth, its impact was still significant: a study released in February suggested that as many as 1.7 million pro-abortion viewers may have reconsidered their stance after watching the short advertisement.

Despite the controversy over the ad, Palm Beach Post reporter Ben Volin notes that the former Florida Gators quarterback nonetheless enjoys ties with major brands such as EA Sports and Nike.

Because he has graduated and is no longer a member of the NCAA, Tebow is free to market endorsements. The football star has indicated that, as in other aspects of his career, he will let his beliefs define his path, and will therefore stay with companies whose message he agrees with, according to the Post.

"I'm very relational based," said Tebow. "So if I feel great with the people that I'm working with, if I feel that we're on the same page and that they have the same interests as me, that they're [of] high character, that they're loyal and they believe in a positive message, then that's the type of people that I want to work with."

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Source:  LifeSiteNews.com

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