NFL quarterback Tim Tebow said Thursday that reports he is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention are nothing more than “rumors.”
“[I] just got back from the Philippines, and I wake up this morning to find out that I’m speaking at the Republican National Convention,” he said Thursday evening in a video posted to Instagram. “It’s amazing how fast rumors fly. And that’s exactly what it is: A rumor.”
“My goal has always been to be able to make a difference in the biggest way possible. And if one days that’s the political realm, then that’s what I’ll do,” he added.
But today is not that day, he concluded.
The New York Times was the first to report that Tebow was supposedly scheduled to make “an appearance” at the RNC convention next week in Cleveland.
One section of the paper’s article read, “From sports there is Mr. Tebow, the former quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner who is known for his conservative views,” and another part of the story claimed he was slated to speak on the fourth and final night of the convention.
The article, titled “Speakers at Donald Trump’s Convention: Tim Tebow, Peter Thiel, but No Sarah Palin?”, is based entirely on “plans obtained by the Times,” and two anonymous sources.
An official working list of scheduled convention speakers circulated early Thursday morning by the RNC did not include Tebow’s name.
The Times appeared to backtrack from its apparently erroneous convention story Thursday evening, and downplayed Tebow’s video comments.
“Tebow, in a video posted to his Instagram account Thursday night, seemed to deny reports that he will speak at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland next Thursday,” the paper’s Victor Mather wrote.
His report added, “A roster of speakers obtained by The New York Times had earlier suggested that Tebow would speak on the fourth and final night of the event. Although the astronaut Eileen Collins, the billionaire Peter Thiel and many Republican dignitaries were among those on the list, Tebow — who started 16 games in the N.F.L. — had drawn the most attention.”
However, though Mather softens the edges around the paper’s original story, the Times’ initial report sounded much more confident is its claim that the sports star had agreed to speak at the convention.
“The roster of speakers obtained by The Times, and confirmed by two people with direct knowledge of the convention planning, reveals a lineup lacking many of the party’s rising stars. Instead, it features some of Mr. Trump’s eclectic collection of friends, celebrities and relatives,” read the original story.
