Jets' Tim Tebow 'disappointed' he is being called a bad teammate

Jets’ Tim Tebow ‘disappointed’ he is being called a bad teammate

By Melissa Rohlin

Dec. 27, 2012 12 PM PT

Jets quarterback Tim Tebow apparently doesn’t mind when critics question his football skills.

But when they question whether he’s a good teammate, Tebow reacts.

“When people are talking about how you play football or how much, that’s one thing, it really doesn’t bother me,” he said, via Jets.com.

“I think the only thing that has been disappointing for me these last few days, and frustrating, is the people saying, ‘Oh, you quit on the team’ or ‘You’re not a good teammate.’ I think that’s disappointing.”

When Greg McElroy was named to replace Mark Sanchez as the Jets’ starter, Tebow felt slighted, so much so that an ESPN report Sunday contended Tebow told the coaching staff that he wanted no part in the wildcat offense.

Tebow acknowledged Wednesday he has not been happy in his role with the Jets, but he claimed he never said he didn’t want to be a part of the wildcat package.

“I never said, ‘Hey, I don’t want to do anything or I won’t do anything,’ ” Tebow said. “That wasn’t the talk at all. [Jets Coach Rex Ryan] knows that and everybody on this team knows I would never not do something if I was asked.

“That’s what’s disappointing, people saying, ‘You quit’ or ‘You didn’t do this.’ That was not it at all. It was me asking to get an opportunity to play the position I love, which is quarterback. It wasn’t me asking out of anything.”

Tebow said he takes a lot of pride in being a good teammate and he pours his heart into his team.

“For people to not know the situation and to bash your character and say you’re a phony, you’re a fake and you’re a hypocrite, I think that’s what’s disappointing and that’s what’s frustrating,” he said.

“It’s a football game. That’s one thing, if you’re good or bad at football, but your character and integrity, that’s who you are as a man.”

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