According to one Jets player, the media are the bad guys in an ongoing controversy surrounding Tim Tebow and they’re not even sure if everything they’re hearing and reading is true.
The Jets are still in hyper-defensive mode as they deal with the backstabbing comments from an anonymous player who called backup quarterback Tim Tebow “terrible” in Wednesday’s New York Daily News. The Jets locker room isn’t buying the hype around the quote.
One prominent Jets player told Metro New York that the consensus was that the quotes were bogus. The player, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the comment about Tebow being “terrible” drew some raised eyebrows from the team.
“That one right there, we don’t know if that necessarily came out of the locker room. We think that was made up or that was from an old story that he took and rewrote it again,” the player said. “We don’t think that came from here and was recent. Whatever one comes from in here has a name on it, like the [Matt] Slauson one. We talked about it and moved on. But we’re not buying all this spin that is coming out right now and we’re not necessarily buying that the quote came out recently or even from this locker room.”
The general vibe around the locker room is strong and the controversy seems to be unifying the team.
“The media is making this an issue, we’re not making it an issue,” the player said. “We’re not even really concerned about it because we’re not buying it.”
That line of thinking echoes owner Woody Johnson, who said on Thursday he thinks this will unite the 3-6 team and be a good thing for the locker room down the road.
“Anonymous people don’t speak for the New York Jets. They really don’t. I’m out here every day talking to players, looking at players, talking to the coaches, meeting with the coaches and the players, so I think I’m a reasonably good judge. I’m not a coach but I’ve been around this for 13 years now. … I see this team as really tight knit,” Johnson said. “Maybe it’s because of the stories that have been circulating recently, the unfair criticism and the anonymous criticism particularly, which is kind of cowardly in my opinion. Put your name on it. If you have a criticism, hey, stand up and we’ll be glad to talk to you about it. I think it is having kind of an effect of maybe bringing the guys closer.”
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.
