Tim Tebow Unveils New Effort to Combat Child Sexual Abuse

WASHINGTON — Abused children are waiting to be rescued, retired football star Tim Tebow said as he read aloud messages from sex offenders who bragged about their predilections for children or had exploitative content of babies on their computers.

One sex offender asked what the others liked, and another replied that he preferred children between the ages of 5 and 9. Another offender wrote that he had a daughter he would like to share with the others, while yet another admitted to having 20 terabytes of baby rape videos that he wanted to sell.

The former Heisman Trophy winner read out sex offender chat room messages during a news conference on Capitol Hill this week to help people understand the threat predators pose to children, in an effort to introduce a bill to combat exploitation.

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“When I read that chat, it hurts,” Tebow said. “And I grieve and mourn a little bit when I read it, but I also have hope. Because I know that we have the ability to bring a piece of the solution here today. And unfortunately, people with the intent to do harm often work better than people with the intent to do good. I say that today with a heavy heart, but you know, I also believe here today that people with the intent to do good work together in an incredible way.”

The former NFL quarterback and professional baseball player joined a group of bipartisan lawmakers outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to introduce the Renewed Hope Act of 2024.

The legislation would expand the ability of U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to rescue victims of exploitation and identify predators. The measure is intended to give the agencies the resources to hire and train personnel and equip them with advanced victim identification methods.

The bill was introduced by Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut in the Senate and Representatives Laurel Lee and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida in the House of Representatives.

“And why shouldn’t we have the best training in the world?” Tebow asked. “Our boys and girls should mean so much to us.”

The former NFL quarterback and American football analyst founded the Tim Tebow Foundation and devotes his time to advocating for at-risk children.

Tebow stressed that this is about people, not politics, specifically the boys and girls who are victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. Some may not understand the implications behind an explicit photo or video, he said.

“It’s not just pictures; it’s not just videos,” Tebow said. “It’s boys and girls in the worst moments of their lives. And then people celebrate it.”

But the former NFL star said he wants the Renewed Hope Act of 2024 to give exploited children the “faith, hope and love that they deserve.” He added that he was thrilled that the word “renewed” was included in the legislation, noting that the word means “to give someone the opportunity to thrive again.”

“Right now, as we’re talking, they’re crying,” Tebow said. “So we have to do more than talk. We have to act, because they’re waiting.”

In an interview with The Christian Post last month, Tebow said he felt called to speak on the topic because of his missionary father, Robert.

Years ago, Robert Tebow was preaching at an underground pastors conference in a place of religious intolerance when he saw four girls for sale at auction. He used all the money he had to buy the girls and purchase their freedom.

“And he called me afterward, and it’s hard to explain,” Tebow said. “I just knew that this was one of those areas that we were called to be in and I knew I was called to be in. And that we had to stand up and stand up for those four and the rest of them, like those sweet, poor girls.”