Tim Tebow on Bench in Dick's Sporting Goods Jersey Display

New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow just can’t seem to shake what professional athletes like to call “haters.” The guy showed the utmost class after being kicked to the curb when the Denver Broncos brought in Peyton Manning and then embraced the circus act to which he was traded in the Big Apple.

Those two events alone would have been enough to drive any other athlete crazy, but Tebow held his poise despite being made fun of arguably more than any other professional athlete in history. However, that junior-high like scrutiny only got worse as the New Year rolled in when Dick’s Sporting Goods put a jersey display depicting Tebow’s No. 15 jersey on the bench next to fellow Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez’s No. 6 mannequin:

Look, Tebow didn’t do anything to deserve something like this and Dick’s should be ashamed of themselves for this fifth-grade tactic. Yes, Tebow is not the starting quarterback for the Jets and likely won’t even be with the team in 2013. For those who hate Tebow (for whatever moronic reason), this is probably pretty funny to them, but why? He’s a stand-up guy who is genuinely a good person and tries to encourage others to be as well.

It would be one thing if Tebow were arrogant because he’s not a good quarterback. However, it’s just silly to make fun of a guy who is extremely humble and never provokes anyone. I’m sure some of the Jets players (including the anonymous one who called Tebow “terrible”) will get a kick out of this, but that’s the sad world we live in today.