The doubters are waiting to pounce on Tim Tebow.
Few athletes in recent memory have garnered so many haters for no good reason at all.
But those eager to see Tebow fail will have to wait longer, as he just got the news that will leave every doubter speechless.
It’s commonplace for celebrities, particularly professional athletes, to have their fair share of critics.
However, Tim Tebow receives an inordinate amount of hate.
Tebow took over the starting quarterback role for a struggling Denver Broncos team and turned the season around.
After Tebow replaced Kyle Orton, the Broncos made an improbable run to the playoffs where they upset the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But along the way, Tebow received a deluge of hate and mockery, both on the field and off it.
The mainstream media were particularly hard on him.
One factor for the media’s antipathy toward Tebow is the rise of anti-Christian hostility in America.
MLB player Daniel Murphy, NFL cheerleader Kristan Ann Ware, and Women’s National Soccer Team player Jaelene Hinkle all had their careers jeopardized for expressing their Christian views.
Even the Second Lady of the United States isn’t spared from the anti-Christian discord.
As for Tebow, the haters couldn’t contain their glee when his NFL prospects as a quarterback dried up.
Tebow decided to change career paths and pursue playing Major League Baseball.
The detractors immediately scoffed and wrote it off as a publicity stunt.
But Tebow kept his head down and put in the work.
In only his second season of minor league baseball—a sport he hadn’t played since high school—Tebow made the AA all-star game as an outfielder.
And in his spare time, he’s making inroads in Hollywood.
Tebow is co-producing a competition show with LeBron James and producing a faith-based feature film with his brother.
If that isn’t enough winning, Tebow’s hitting coach Jay Gibbons believes he’s on track to make it to the majors.
Gibbons told The Athletic, “You’re talking about a guy where what we’re trying to do is very difficult to do — nearly impossible.”
Gibbons, a former MLB player in his own right, has worked to expedite Tebow’s development.
He continued, “The first time I saw it, it was concerning. He looked like a guy that was a high-school player… trying to muscle everything.”
Tebow showed a little bit of promise his first year, but he had inconsistent mechanics and poor plate discipline, which led to high strikeout numbers.
Gibbons further expounded, “Pretty much halfway through the season last year, we just needed to simplify it…Once we got his base better, everything started syncing up with his upper body.”
The improved technique led many to believe Tebow was going to get a late-season call-up for the New York Mets, but an injury dashed those hopes.
Then Sandy Alderson, the General Manager who believed in Tebow, was fired.
That left Tebow’s future in jeopardy.
However, new manager Brodie Van Wagenen also foresees Tebow reaching the majors.
Gibbons also said, “For him to do what he’s done already, to me, is an amazing thing. I’m not the guy that’s going to doubt Tim Tebow, with his heart and his drive. I would never doubt that guy.”
If Tebow’s determination says anything, it says he will defy the odds and clear the last hurdle to reach the majors.