Why Tim Tebow Doesn’t Focus on What Others Say About Him

Published: June 15, 2026

By India McCarty

For Tim Tebow, actions will always speak louder than words.

“Words of affirmation [are] not my love language,” he said in a recent Instagram video. “It’s actually probably one of the lowest, if not the lowest — I’ve just heard a lot of words, good or bad, said about me over a long period of time. And so I don’t take in a lot of what people say to me, whether it’s right or wrong.”

Tebow continued, “When I evaluate, I actually watch how they treat people that can do nothing for them. That’s on our teams, it’s in friends, it’s in meeting y’all. It’s going to weigh so much more if you treat someone kindly that can do nothing for you. Especially when you’re mad, irritated, or something doesn’t go your way. But how do you view people, or how do you treat people when no one’s there, or when they can do nothing for you?”

In the caption of the post, Tebow wrote, “Real encouragement doesn’t come from someone trying to be liked. It comes from someone who genuinely sees you.”

The former NFL star put his own thoughts into action recently. Tebow has long championed the Renewed Hope Act, which would “create and equip an army of analysts, investigators and forensic specialists to find and safeguard the more than 50,000 children who have been seen in sexually abusive images by law enforcement, but have not been protected yet,” per the Tim Tebow Foundation website.

The Renewed Hope Act recently passed through the House and will now go to the President’s desk.

“Right now, 89,000 unidentified image series of children being sexually abused have been seen by law enforcement — but these children have yet to be identified and are still waiting to be found due to resource and manpower shortages,” Tebow said in a statement. “Every day we don’t act is another day they’re in harm’s way. Today, we acted. I am grateful to our congressional leaders for getting this lifesaving legislation over the finish line, and to the law enforcement who never stop fighting for these kids.”

He continued, “My prayer is that hope is renewed for many more boys and girls, and that their stories will be different because of this legislation. When we come together, real change can happen — and this is just the beginning.”

Instead of focusing on the words of others, Tebow prefers to put his head down and get to work on the things that matter — helping others.

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