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."
do school faculty and administrators really not have anything better to worry about?
They have to do something to do to justify their salaries!
Do you mean do they have anything more important to worry about than student safety and discipline?
You'd be whining about anything these administrators do.
Yea, I mean maintaining order and safety in the schools ... who needs that.
You’re right. Administrators should not be concerned about students' safety, clear and safe hallways, clear safety paths in case of emergency, etc. That’s such a waste of time to be considering the well-being and safety of ALL the students. (I hope my sarcasm is accurately reflected.)
Not have anything better to worry about? Kids kneeling in the hallway blocking stairs as kids rush from class to class may seem nothing to you. One kid trips over one of the "kneelers" and there is a lawsuit going on. You expect them to just let kids get away with whatever they want? If they do that then it will happen again and on a larger scale until there is a huge disruption. I bet if there was a huge disruption you would be the first to make a comment about why the administrators were not keeping order in their school. That is their job, along with all the other administrative duties they are responsible for. I think the punishment fit the infraction. Keep the well thought out and insightful comments coming.
Student safety and maintaining rules are two big things they are required to do. It's sad he has to defend his actions as not being aimed at religion.
Get Tebow out of the news and Good, suspend the kids for following this crazy man.
i agree....im over Tebow and his antics....wearing a jersey that said Jesus on it....wow, he needs to play football and realize he is not the second coming and move on...what a psycho..
IDIOT
very dangerous acts to mankind indeed young fellow from the meadow.
GET OUT OF THE F^*$%ING WAY! WE'RE LATE FOR CLASS!
What if the school did nothing and the headline was "Injured student sues school board after tripping over 'Tebowing' students". Damned if you do and damned if you don't, I guess.
Tebow is making all the fundamental Christian go bonkers...Please Tom Brady stop the madness this weekend.
They are well within their right to stop and kneel down if they want. What next getting suspended for saying Bless You after someone sneezes? If they want to kneel and pray that is fine with me. As far as blocking the hall how long did this last 30 seconds? Good God give me a break.....
They are not within ther rights. separation of church and state....cmon,
Glad you said that. We'll be kneeling to worship Satan right outside your door, genius.
The students in question had a history of being disruptive to other students and to classes. They had been warned multiple times, yet they still went out of their way to cause grief to other students and to the school.
Stop trying to justify their stupidity.
It has nothing to do with religion. The hallways were designed to allow students to pass from area to area, and not to assemble in. Why could they not go outside?
For those idiots claiming these these kids cant "tebow" because of separation of church and state...I suggest you go back to 3rd grade a learn exactly what that means. People like you who dont have the faintest clue but spout off anyway are the problem. Separation of church and states says that the state can not mandate relgion...it has nothing to do with an individuals right. Get educated before you go trolling again...otherwise you just look stupid
No they do not have the right to be a trip hazard. There rights end at the safety of others. Just the same as yelling fire in a crowded room when there is no fire. If the want to do this Tebow thing then they need to chose a place and a time that is both safe for others and for a reason other than being little jerks that need to be seen for doing something as stupid as Tebowing
In this case I completely agree with the school. This was not a case directed at the students for "Tebowing", but an inappropriate place for the students to do it. These student are only doing it to act "cool", but were obstructing the hallways. There is a proper time and place for this to take place.
Tebowing should take place at a church between a man and a woman, not with 40 boys in a high school hallway on Long Island.
Ha,ha,ha,ha...good one!
One should only "Tebow" when one does something HORRIBLE. Because that's what Tim Tebow stands for.
I'm an Atheist. But I think Tebow is a terrific example for all kids, and it boggles my mind that a school would punish kids for obviously having fun with his iconic pose. It's clearly more of a meme like planking than a overt religious expression. But our school officials fear everything they don't understand or can't control. If my son got suspended for that, I'd be camped outside the principal's office. Blocking the halls is the weirdest BS excuse I've ever heard.
No, you're not an atheist.
No doubt. Lawsuit in the making for sure.
Really? A safety hazard? How? In the words of Mitch Hedberg, if you have legs and you are flammable, you are never blocking a fire exit.
What a joke Principal Wicks.
The students should not have been suspended, they should have been mocked and made to attend a mandatory Saturday class on science for the rest of the year. People that do things like this are just stupid. That goes double for Tim Tebum and all those that copy him. There. Are. No. Gods!
Of course they mimic ... they are like thousands of other robots who do believe before they think. This is all about doing what the group is doing. I wonder if kneel at home. These are not really Christians since Christ reminded his followers to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar as and to God that which is God's. Ring-Wing Christian zealots in the US often forget that since it does not fit their agenda.
suspend them!!!!! Hell shoot them now before they turn into suicide bombers, cause that is where this sort of thing leads.
If the "no blocking hallway" rule was in place I can understand the school's position but come on, it's not like they were selling drugs. A simple reminder would suffice.
better not drop your books and have to pick them up then.