Two "Tebowing" high school students have been suspended for blocking the hallway while mimicking the quarterback's famous prayer pose.
The boys were two of four students to trigger a wave of some 40 students kneeling in between classes, Riverhead High School Principal David Wicks said. The students caused a safety hazard, he said. The incident was captured on a smartphone and posted to YouTube.
"It was basically just a tribute to Tim Tebow," The New York Post quoted one of the boys as saying. "It was more than a religious thing. There was some of that involved obviously, because he prays. I guess it was basically like a moment of silence."
The two students received in-school suspension because they had been warned before about pulling disruptive stunts in the middle of the hallway, Wick said. The others received a verbal warning.
"This is about students causing an unsafe situation by blocking the hallways," Wicks said. "This has nothing to do with Tim Tebow or punishing the students for their religion beliefs. If they'd been sitting in the hallway with their legs crossed they'd receive the same discipline."
Tebow mania is sweeping the nation, inspired by the Denver Broncos quarterback's overt religiosity and knack for winning despite less than stellar stats.
"I think it’s wonderful that our students look up to sports heroes such as Mr. Tebow, but we can’t allow students to create unsafe situations in school," Superintendent Nancy Carney said in a statement.
"The students stated that there was nothing religious about their actions and that they were just having fun. We hope that these students and all of our students continue to look up to the positive role models in public life; we just encourage them to do it in a responsible way."
Matthew 6:5-6
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Hey, stop bringing Scripture into this discussion of prayer!
hypocrites pretty much says it all in regards to american christians...you know the ones who worship rich people while forgetting the eye of the needle
I'm glad you had that verse on hand, because more people need to keep it in mind. It's great and all that you're religious, but man, you don't need and in fact are not supposed to broadcast it.
You're taking the scripture out of context. They were saying their prayers outloud so people could hear them. These are silent prayers, a BIG difference.
larryc: "go into your room, close the door" does not translate as "the middle of traffic as long as you're not saying anything outloud".
That's only if you're doing it for personal attention instead of giving attention to GOD. Gosh, people- CONTEXT!!! You can tell who really READS the Bible and who just pulls out little one-liner "Bible bullets" out of context.
Jesus was talking about the Pharisees; religious hypocrites whom He said blocked the way to Heaven, put extra rules on people, and made it generally HARDER to come to God. Tim Tebow does NONE of those things when he kneels his head to pray. If he were rolling his eyes back into his head and praying all loud so people would look while pretending to be holier than others, then yeah- but he's not doing that.
different ways to pray...God knows their hearts, not you...taking a scripture and trying to use it to prove your point is nonsense...
"Judge, lest you be Judged, for how you judge is how you will be judged" ..........................you see, anyone can do it!
skeegeecee: that's exactly what these kids were doing – doing it for nothing but attention....
Skegeeace
You know for a fact that Tebow and these kids were doing for god only? I personally think Tebow does it as a way to keep his name in the news. The more popular and controversial he is the bigger his next deal. And these kids... they were probably doing it as a rib... to get a few laughs. Don't come in here screaming "context" because you don't know what their context was.
Since when is worshiping Tim Tebow a recognized/protected religion?
That statement is just too accurate on so many levels!
Thank You!
They were mimicking him, not worshipping him...you people are real idiots.
The point was that there's a fine line between worshipping & mimicking, go to any church & observe for yourself.
just kids being a pain in the @ss.
I'm embarased for them, deluded and disruptive, in public no less.
They blocked the hallway. They were warned that blocking the hallway again would lead to ISS. They blocked it again, and received ISS. I am sure I they had posed in an area that was more open or had bothered to keep to the side of the hallway there would have been no issue.
Safety hazard or not, they were blocking the hallway and causing a disruption. Everyone who's been to high school knows passing times are short, the scheduler doesn't seem to think anything of putting classes and lockers as far apart as possible, and teachers take a dim view of people who are late for class. This was a DISRUPTION, caused by students who apparently are repeat offenders. The school reacted appropriately.
Disruptions are fun Troy.
WOW! High-school kids goofing around. Schools take themselves way to seriously these days. We have to remember what it is to have harmless fun. They where not, fighting, or screaming and making a fuss, they were positioning their bodies in a humorous non-provocative way. A simple HA-HA-HA move along goofballs would suffice in this situation. I understand they were warned, but that was probably for overly exaggerated BS too. I have no clue how people make it through life taking things so seriously, wake up look in the mirror and say "it's okay to have fun".
Please understand though that the objective of most schools is to have the children go through life goose-stepping. No independent thinking or initiative allowed. You just can't have any kids end up with the 1% can we?
OMG i COMPLETLEY agree with u. everyone saying it was good for them to be suspended needs to STFU.
Good for the school to punish them. We just can't have alternatives to deadly hazing.
They certainly look like they're enjoying their notoriety. Bucking for our own reality show, are we? Hmmmm?
yeah! we don't want our kids to look up to Tebow....we want our kids to be just like the dumb thugs that are in the league......
You're calling the football player in Chicago who was just picked up for wholesaling in drugs a thug? That's harsh.
And if the school had done nothing, let the little brats keep doing it, and someone got injured because of the blockage in the hallway, the ones calling the suspensions "ridiculous" would be screaming that the school should have done something.
The little punks need to grow up and be responsible; pulling stupid pranks isn't funny.
religious m o r o n s on parade.
Tebow is the most overrated player EVER.
.
The praying wasnt the problem – they were blocking the hallways and made it impossible for students to get to class.
Yuck it up, boys. You won't be laughing when Satan is wearing your head as a jock strap.
Are people so weak that they can't even say....The kids were "praying" in the hallway? what the heck is Tebowing. We have watched many an athlete drop to a knee or make the sign of the cross upon an accomplishment. Get Real!