We’ve previously pointed out that Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow could spark contempt and resentment in an NFL locker room. Recent comments from Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis hone in on one of the specific potential sources for the hard feelings players may have for Tebow.
That Tebow is somehow better or more worthy than the rest of them.
Asked by ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd whether Lewis was shocked by the media attention on the Tebow story prior to the draft, Lewis said (via NFL.com), “The thing I was more shocked by is you see all the people who were willing to help him. I don’t know many people who were willing to help other athletes like that. Jon Gruden loved him to death. You see all these people who took out their personal time to really work with him and make this big issue, big issue, big issue. I don’t know why he was any different than anyone else. Every young child has that dream, that same dream that Tebow had. So I don’t know why he was bigger . . . than any of the other guys.
“He went to a big program, and, yes, he might be a favorable person, but nobody else in the league, definitely not veteran players, see themselves differently than any other player.”
Though Lewis stopped short of saying that this will make Tebow a target of opposing defenders (the Broncos play at Baltimore on October 10), Tebow’s bigger concern should be ironing out any hard feelings that may arise in his own locker room, where others may not be thrilled by the budding love affair between Tebow and the fan base and/or Tebow and the head coach, who proclaimed this week that Tebow has the “it” factor.
Again, it all comes down to how Tebow handles himself. And though others might see Tebow “differently than any other player,” we don’t believe Tebow carries himself in a way that suggests that he sees himself differently. And we think that if Tebow handles himself the way he always has, he’ll win his teammates over and, in time, his foes.