There’s no doubt that Tim Tebow is one of the most polarizing figures in the NFL. And some of his popularity in the sports world could have to do with an alleged directive from the number one sports network, ESPN, to its employees: mainly, you can’t talk enough Tebow. And on Tuesday, two ESPN staples were caught on a hot mic, and hot camera, doing what appeared to be just that.
During coverage of Tuesday’s Super Bowl media day, anchor Hannah Storm (who you might recognize from her detour onto CBS’s network morning show) and analyst Mark Schlereth were having what outlets are reporting was a private conversation about Tim Tebow’s prospects in the NFL. In case you don’t know, Tebow is expected to be released from the Jets but no team has shown interest in picking him up — at least as a quarterback. And that’s exactly what Storm and Schlereth were discussing. According to Schlereth’s sources, Tebow may have a chance as a tight end, but even that is tough because there’s rumor he’s not athletic enough to catch the ball.
Here’s the conversation (via Yahoo):
Storm: The what?
Schlereth: It’s like a tight-end/h-back?
Storm: Oh yeaaaah. Well that’s interesting.
Schlereth: But I’m going to tell you. I talked to a bunch of Broncos coaches who said ‘I just don’t know if he’s a fluid enough athlete to go over and play tight end … they say he doesn’t catch the ball naturally either
Storm: Well if that’s the case. Ohh. (hears producer in ear piece) OK, OK. Sure, sure.
Producer: “OK, standby guys.”
It’s unclear why the cameras cut to the duo and why it stayed on them so long. But it did — and you get a peek behind the curtain. Video of it is below. For a high quality version, you can watch it on Deadspin:






















































































































Comments (59)
Lovesmesomeglennbeck
Jan. 30, 2013 at 1:59pmESPN is no longer relevant since Erin Andrews left.
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GroundZero is Nuclear Demolition x3
Jan. 30, 2013 at 2:16pmWhen is the Blaze gona have a thumbs up/down, cuz you got that right.
@2thepoint, All religions are nothing more than a means to subvert an ignorant populous.
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tothepoint
Jan. 30, 2013 at 1:46pmTebow is a Christian.
Mainstream media of all kinds despise Christians and openly deride them. If Tebow had been of another faith, they wouldn’t think anything of it.
Shameful, but true.
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gosutag
Jan. 30, 2013 at 3:48pm@TOTHEPOINT: Take the stick out of your ****. Even if what you’re saying is true, stop being such a baby. Take it and go on about your life. If you are Christian and want to follow that religion so be it. Stop trying to make it okay to offend others, but not your religion.
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br.loynd
Jan. 30, 2013 at 5:35pm@GOSUTAG – take the foot out of you mouth. I cannot see anything in he above comment that even hits to what you are saying. All he pointed out was that there is a media bias, not that it is ok to make fun of other Religions. WOW, this his how the left argues, just make something up and say that is what they said. how sad.
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ModerationIsBest
Jan. 30, 2013 at 7:07pmKurt Warner is a Christian.
He would bring a Bible to the podium after many games.
He constantly talked about God.
They don’t criticize Kurt Warner and say he was a bad QB.
People don’t hate Tim Tebow, they just think he’s a bad Qb….which is true!
What people hate is all of the Christians who rally behind Tebow and can’t be objective and say “oh they do’nt like him because he’s a Christian.”
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vaman
Jan. 30, 2013 at 12:47pmThe guy is a good player, nothing special though in the world of pro football. So what that he’s a christian by his self definition? Stop beliving everything christian is always blessed by god. Apparently he hasn’t prayed hard enough, because his skills have not improved.
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The Big Mick
Jan. 30, 2013 at 1:55pmThe Observant Student will note that The Virginian here equates the “Blessing of God” both with having one’s prayers answered in a certain way AND with Improvement in one’s Natural Abilities. Note too the A Priori Assumption, presented with no Prima Facie Evidence, that both Blessing,Answer, and Improvement are a function of the “hardness”–one presumes he means earnestness or Zeal or effort–of one’s prayers.
The Thoughtful Student will thus form a cogent evaluation of the Depth of Virgi’s Theological Knowledge and Understanding, and the Breadth of his Prejudice.
Fact, Virgi, God does “bless” all Christians, for their good and His Glory, “His mercy is over all His works and His will is ever directed to His Children’s good”. The Effectiveness of Prayer appears to be a Tri-fold Function of Understanding/Awareness/Belief in and Commitment to God’s Promises and Character, Steadfastness and Continued “stick to it-iveness”–i.e. simply keeping AT it, and a Commitment to Personal Holiness “the steadfast prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.”
Full disclosure, I got an M.Div from Duke Divinity ’98, which combined with a couple bucks will get me a cup of McD’s coffee. Don’t make me special, just indicates I have some street cred for being able to make a cogent comment on this.
The POINT continues to be ESP’N's Anti-["white"*] Christian BIAS!
*I believe “Race” to be a mythical concept. However the double standard between a Tebo
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Ghandi was a Republican
Jan. 30, 2013 at 11:56amNot only does Tebow keep it cool. He throws a safe ball, keeps the defense in disarray and he keeps a positive attitude. The fans love him despite what these mooorons say. He is ideal as a backup if not starter fro these reasons. A team cannot spend all their time studying to play a backup, especially like Tebow.. College players are often overrated. I wasn’t particularly a fan, but the more trash I hear the more I like him. I will likely be cheering for any team he is heading up.
Just another thought. Suppose Tebow was black? They would never say these things. They would be fired as racists!
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Godfather.1
Jan. 30, 2013 at 12:09pmWrong! If Tebow were black, he would never have been drafted as a quarterback. Charlie Ward also won the Heisman but wasn’t drafted. And guess what, he was black.
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Godfather.1
Jan. 30, 2013 at 1:26pmActually, you are right. Now I remember how all those journalists got fired for ripping on Berry Bonds for the last 20 years. Remember when Joe Buck got canned for ripping Bonds during the World Series?
And don’t forget about all those journalists who got fired for saying Sanchez is terrible. After all, he is Hispanic. Remember that?
Yeah, I don’t either.
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SgtBigO
Jan. 30, 2013 at 2:06pmHe throws a safe ball? Come on man! He throws an ugly ball that is also very inaccurate. This isn’t a personal thing. It’s simply a sports thing. He has a long throwing motion. Bad feet placement. Inaccurate, which leads to incomplete passes and interceptions. He’s not a NFL QB. It’s what the entire league is starting to see. If he wants to play in the NFL, he needs to learn another position.
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codefool
Jan. 30, 2013 at 11:32amESPN is so irrelavant when it comes to sporting news. They used to have soild reporting in the 90′s but now they are nothing but a bunch of haters and trolls. Only players they worship are Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, anyone else, god forbid they express faith in God is run down be these hateful SOBS. I never watch ESPN unless there’s a game on I want to see.
And thier MNF football commentating crew is garbage.
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The Big Mick
Jan. 30, 2013 at 11:24amAnything ESPN has to say about Tebow (or Te’O) is a JOKE.
We IZ P “N” ingests dark and dusky member-ship so hard they flatulate “chocolate” ‘impjuice.
They HATE Christians, all there is to it.
Run down the list of the On Air Personalities last names, the Producers and Suits last names.
Listen for a mere 2 minutes, if you can last that long, to the Squeeky Voiced moron who has NO talent other than his Ethnicity.
Tebow’s reputed lack of “skills” has nothing to do with it, he certainly is no LESS talented (if no more, factoring “leadership”, “competitiveness”, Intangibles” and the “it” factor OUT) than those Great Failed Black Peyton Manning Hopes JaMarcus Russel?? (Oakland, Mike and Mike agreed he had NO BUSINESS in the NFL) and Vince Young, who like Newton (now not so hot) and McNabb (can you say RUSH WAS RIGHT! Think he’ll ever get an APOLOGY?) were HYPED beyond measure, much less beyond ANY reason other than BLACKKKKKKKness! (and no “cornball” quotient either, n’est pas?).
Naw they Hate Tebow and intend both to Destroy him AND profit by the Conflict/DRAMA (it IS all ENTERTAINMENT after all) he generates, simply because he had the BALLS to make a Pro-Life Ad.
NOTHING else is ANYTHING but Heifer Methane, lacking as it does, both the Balls to be Bull and the Substance to be sheite.
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SgtBigO
Jan. 30, 2013 at 2:09pmGoing to disagree in what area. Donovan McNabb. McNabb never had a WR that meant anything until T.O. showed up. And what did they do that year? Go to the Super Bowl. So it wasn’t McNabb’s fault. They would have gone another year if it wasn’t for the Eagles D allowing a coversion on a 4th and 20+.
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Fubar Frog
Jan. 30, 2013 at 11:05amIf I were Tebow it really woundn’t bother me what “Hanna the Sausage” says about me. For those that don’t remember one of the guys (can’t remember his name) on the show PTI said that her clothes were so tight see looked like a sausage, he got two weeks off without pay. He sould have gotten a raise as he was dead on. Ever notice when she’s standing with a group of guys that she’s almost always pushing her pelvic area towards them? Talk about a slut on the troll, can’t stand the sausage!
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tckid17
Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:59amI really really really want Tim Tebow to succeed but he is no, RGIII, Kaepernick, Luck, or Wilson.
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The Big Mick
Jan. 30, 2013 at 11:26amTrue, but is he AS BAD or USELESS as a JaMarcus Russel, as Failed as Vince Foster or as Over Hyped as Donovan McNabb.
Extra Credit for naming what THOSE 3 QB paragons have in common.
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OniMan
Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:46amWho cares about Tim Tebow, obviously no one important….weak
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Duckhead
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:52amYou people do realize that Schlereth is also a Christian don’t you? Tebow is a limited football player. He also seems to be a very strong Christian (just like Schlereth). Tebow is not Jesus. Criticizing Tebow’s football ability is not blasphemy.
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The_Jerk
Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:08amDuck, it’s the constant criticism, the pattern, the theme, that is the point. This is not an isolated case.
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The Big Mick
Jan. 30, 2013 at 11:46amare there Christians at ESPN, sure.
Does ESPN as a CULTURE HATE Christians, equally sure.
Did ESP”N” HYPE equally “limited” BLACK QB’s like Jamarcus Russel and Vince Foster BEYOND ALL REASON?
Have they FAILED to admit Rush was RIGHT about McNabb?
All Equally SURE.
And THAT’s the REAL point Ducky. Not that they are telling the Truth on Tebow’s skills, but that they LIE about the Skills of Other Subsets.
But the REAL Real point is that what Piszses the Non-Christian, Non-(mythical) “white” Power Brokers of ESPN off is that CHRISTIAN AMERICA REFUSED to be TOLD what to think and how to feel about Tebow.
What REALLY set ESPN on the “Destroy Tebow” path was the THREAT to THEIR CONTROL of the Sports BUZZ. “How dare you value someone WE tell you should be despised, peon! Get back in line, remember your place out our feet.”
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Landon410
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:52amthis i don’t care about, so what, someone said they didn’t think he could play tight end, thats their job
there was no personal attack, or discussion about his personal views, i have no problem with this
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loveliberty83
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:28amI also think there was something up to destroy tbow–these iiots would rather have druggys , rapist dog abusers on football, we need to do something against these shows that bad mouth tbow
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The_Jerk
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:38amThis is the modus operandi of the Jewish progressive. How many examples does it take?
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ldonnell
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:52amthe left just can’t handle Christians.maybe if Tebow were caught with dope and a handgun in a hiphop whorehouse,he might make it in the nfl.
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The_Jerk
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:22amThe Ebony Sports Promoting Network, ESPN, is another culture changing, base, progressive, Jewish run Organization. History is cyclic. People find out the truth too late, for they are too busy chastising the messenger who was correct all along. John Skipper.
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Thundergod
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:39amI wish the Cowboys would give Tebow a chance or maybe even the Vikings. Tebow seems to be self confident,and self confidence is not something Tony Romo exudes.
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lgccac
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:31amTim Tebow is a strong Christian who doesn’t hide his faith. He also has something most football players don’t have (and that includes the Texans’ Matt Schaub), he’s a winner.
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chingachgook
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:25amThe left can not stand Tebow. He has been treated badly by the jets. I believe that is because of the issue the media has made out of his religious beliefs. O my gosh he knelt during a game. I find that much more acceptable than much of the emotional displays that draw appropriate penalties. Fact is if I was a coach and you did a flip in the end zone you would be answering to me. I would not want a broken ankle doing something stupid. But Tebow was not given a chance to perform in New York. What did he run, like ten plays? You need to play to be good. You need to develop timing and confidence with your team mates. He did not do badly in Denver. The hate that religion engenders is amazing. I really never noticed this before the left basically came out of hiding in the last few years. Your choose is clearer every day.
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The_Jerk
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:50am” I believe that is because of the issue the media has made out of his religious beliefs.”
You are correct. He is Christian. He is traditional. This is why the Jewish run progressive media snipes at him. This is not an isolated case. This is the M.O.. Stop shooting the messenger.
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SquidVetOhio
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:25amMark Schlereth (Stank) is an idiot. He acts like he was the toughest guy to play the game. I don’t even remember him and I live and breathe football.
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soybomb315
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:31ami do. he was offensive line in denver. he was really good
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Zipit
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:45amC’mon SQUID!!! “Stink” was a great player! Three Super Bowl rings as an offensive lineman over a long career, and he underwent at least twelve surgeries to keep playing the game!! I’d categorize that as “tough”!
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The_Jerk
Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:10amStrong body. Weak mind.
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Zipit
Jan. 30, 2013 at 3:23pmWell if that ain’t the Jerk callin the kettle black!
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culpeperminuteman
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:21amMark Schlereth has never liked Tim Tebow, for whatever reason. Mark is just one of many commentators all over the sports spectrum who hate on Tebow every chance they get. This includes Merrill Hodge, Ron Jaworski, and Boomer Esaison. I personally feel it’s because he is a christian, but I have no way of proving that. I will say that Schlereth has never tried to hide his dislike for Tebow and I’m willing to bet he won’t even address this latest example of that.
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ColoradoMaverick
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:19amYeah, Sanchez did such a bang up job this year!! I’m a Broncos fan and if I’m not mistaken, Tebow took the Broncos just a bit further than Manning did and if I’m not mistaken, I think it was Manning’s poor judgement and ensuing interception that did us in in the overtime loss to the Ravens. Don’t get me wrong, Peyton Manning is a great QB, but so is Tebow. He just doesn’t belong on a hack team like the Jets. He would do great on team where the fans believe in God. That rules out any liberal state.
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horsehockey
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:48amYep, Peyton Manning is the reason the Broncs didn’t play for the championship against Patriots.
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Winedude
Jan. 30, 2013 at 11:04amWhile Manning did throw the interception that led to the elimination of Denver in the playoffs, 99% of the blame should go to the Denver defense. A 70 yard completion with 30 seconds to go in the game should never have happened. Great job the the Bronco corners & safeties…NOT!!!
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Thundergod
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:15amI think theres a concerted effort on ESPN to ruin Tebows career and smear his name in the league. Some of their commentators like Merril Hodge seem to have a personal vendettal against Tebow. Merril Hodge is always a *****,but he seemed to have a personal dislike for Tebow and wants him run out of the league from what I was seeing and hearing.
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jackact
Jan. 30, 2013 at 7:54amWhat exactly is the relevance of ESPN?
A staff of talking heads who never played the game. A collation of morons in a perpetual state of arrested development prowling the corridors of ESPN for ‘fresh intern meat’.
Most of them married. Unable to broadcast a single sporting event professionally.
The cheeseiness of ESPN wore off a long time ago.
Watch NFL and MLB networks if you want real sport reportage.
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ronaldreaganthegreat
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:02amAgree. espn is a fraud starting with Berman.
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soybomb315
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:14amESPN is to sports what MSNBC/theblaze is to politics
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RJJinGadsden
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:35amSOYBUM, and yet here you are as usual. Sort of addicted to the Blaze?
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The-Monk
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:53amHi RJJ,
I’d say more than an addiction… more like a sick psychological obsession.
Remember what I said about cause and effect relating to guilt?
Here’s your sign…
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The_Jerk
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:36amRonaldreaganthegreat, funny that you should mention Chris Berman, another culture changing, Jewish, progressive. Pretty soon the volume of proof becomes too overwhelming to ignore. But, usually it’s too late, your traditions and culture are gone.
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Zipit
Jan. 30, 2013 at 7:52amHannah’s not looking too bad after that BBQ deal, and you gotta love Schlereth! What they said about Tebow, no big deal….. He has a lot worse said about him every day!!!! He will be the object of both admiration and criticism his entire career, however long that may be!
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ldonnell
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:46amhanna’s had two meltdowns,the first was on good morning america,the second at the bbq pit.
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jcldwl
Jan. 30, 2013 at 7:50amI am so glad I stopped supporting major sports.
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soybomb315
Jan. 30, 2013 at 7:45ami know everyone loves their Tebow – but theblaze should do an article on colin kaepernick. Kaepernick seems to be a great person and is christian too. a different kind of christian that does not demand all the attention
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RJJinGadsden
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:38amSOYBUM, tag the Report Post at the bottom right of your post, and add those same comments to the moderators. They will pick up on it faster, and you might just have something there. You might just actually contribute something worthwhile for once while you are on, you know, that blog that you don’t like, The Blaze.
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samurai2112
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:40amKaepernick has also been given full support to run the read option offense like Tebow did last year. I hope all the best for both of them. I think Tebow has been given the Palin treatment by the press and everyone believes what has been said about him versus what he has accomplished in his career.
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phil1765
Jan. 30, 2013 at 7:45amwho cares?
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