The case of Chuck Shriner, the senior at Ft. Myers Catholic School in Florida who dropped to one knee to “Tebow” prior to receiving his diploma at graduation, has caught the attention of the Jets quarterback. After pulling the stunt in front of his graduating class, Shriner was not allowed to receive his diploma.
Tim Tebow, who made dropping to one knee in prayer on the football field a cultural phenomenon called “Tebowing,” said on Thursday that he was aware of the case of Shriner. The high school senior did the stunt on a bet and was forced to clean his school’s gym before receiving the diploma.
“I don’t think his diploma should be withheld. I think it was probably something a lot of people laughed at,” Tebow said following organized team activities (OTAs) on Thursday. “I don’t know that it was necessarily appropriate, but I definitely think he should be able to graduate. Let him graduate.”
For his part, Tebow wanted Shriner’s intention to honor the spirit behind “Tebowing,” that is to say the posture of prayer, and not just be a dare from high school friends. If the spirit wasn’t right, Tebow said, then the punishment of cleaning the high school gym seems appropriate.
“I think it was all about the intentions that he had,” Tebow said before commenting on the appropriateness of the gym-cleaning punishing. “If it was for a bet, maybe.”
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