Tim Tebow says he is 'saving himself for marriage'

Tebow was the first homeschooled athlete to win the Heisman Trophy.

HOOVER, Ala.(CNA) - Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow brought chastity and college sports together at a press conference last week at U.S. college football's SEC Media Days when one reporter asked him if he was "saving himself for marriage."

The question, asked by FanHouse.com reporter Clay Travis, prompted laughter from Tebow and other media members in the audience before the University of Florida athlete replied:

"Yes I am."

Smiling and noting the reporters' reactions, he added: "I think y'all were stunned by that... first time ever! Wow... I was prepared for that question, I don't think y'all were," he added, laughing with the rest of the room.

In other remarks at the conference, he discussed how the story of his birth and his mother's resistance of doctors' pressure to abort has affected others.

Tebow's parents were Christian missionaries in the Philippines. His mother had contracted a life-threatening infection while pregnant with him, but she refused medical advice to abort the unborn Tim Tebow.

At the press conference, the football star said he believes the publicity his mother's story has received has helped other women decide not to abort their children, LifeSiteNews.com reports.

"There have been a lot of people that have been encouraged not to have an abortion because they heard the story of my mom, or they have been encouraged because they have heard me give my faith on TV or in a report or something," he stated.

Saying that there has been a "backlash," he said he will "deal with it if I have to."

"It's not a big deal to me because of the kids and people that have been encouraged by the stories we have tried to tell and by the life that I've tried to live," he remarked.
Tebow was the first homeschooled athlete to win the Heisman Trophy.

---

Founded in continued response to Pope John Paul II’s call for a “New Evangelization,” the Catholic News Agency (CNA) has been, since 2004, one of the fastest growing Catholic news providers to the English speaking world.