University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow will appear with his mom in a Super Bowl ad for Focus on the Family next month.
According to Advocate.com and The Palm Beach Post, Tebow defended the 30-second ad in which he and his mother Pam are expected to discuss her decision not to have an abortion despite advice from doctors after she contracted amoebic dysentery in the Philippines during her pregnancy with Tim.
“I know some people won’t agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe, and I’m never shy about that,” Tebow said Sunday. “I don’t feel like I’m very preachy about it, but I do stand up for what I believe. Unfortunately in today’s society not many athletes tend to do that.”
Adweek reports that the other side is also standing for what they believe. A group of more than two-dozen women’s and pro-choice advocacy organizations has demanded that CBS reject a Super Bowl ad.
“Focus on the Family has waged war on nontraditional families, tried its hand at race baiting during the 2008 election, and is now attempting to use the Super Bowl to further ramp up the vitriolic rhetoric surrounding reproductive rights,” the pro-choice groups said in their protest letter to CBS on Jan. 25.
CBS issued a statement that says, in part, “our standards and practices process continues to adhere to a process that ensures all ads — on all sides of an issue — are appropriate for air. We will continue to consider responsibly produced ads from all groups for the few remaining spots in Super Bowl XLIV.”
