Tim Tebow fought hard to help the Florida Gators win national championships on the football field. But the toughest battle of his life has been on the front lines of the battle against human trafficking.
Tebow appeared on “Fox News Live” on Sunday and said the event is “more important than ever” to help combat human trafficking and child exploitation.
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Former college football star Tim Tebow appeared on “Fox News Live” on Sunday and spoke about his fight against child exploitation and human trafficking. (Logan Riely/Getty Images/File)
“We've been in this fight for over 10 years, ever since my father was overseas and was able to buy freedom for four little girls,” the Heisman Trophy winner said. “And that day I knew I was called to fight for the most vulnerable. And that's what we're trying to do.
“We are lucky to be able to do this. And more than 90 countries around the world are fighting for the most vulnerable, the most vulnerable people in the world. But specifically, this campaign that we are talking about today is for those children who are being exploited and abused… often in their own homes.”
The former Denver Broncos quarterback gave some alarming statistics about child sexual abuse.
Former college football star Tim Tebow appeared on “Fox News Live” on Sunday and spoke about his fight against child exploitation and human trafficking. (James Gilbert/Getty Images/File)
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“In the last 12 months, more than 500,000 unique IP addresses have downloaded and shared child sexual abuse material,” Tebow said. “And we know that, on average, 55 to 85 percent of those who download and share it are also active offenders. That means there are hundreds of thousands of children out there who are being abused, who are being harmed, who are being exploited, and we need to do something about it.
“The average offender has 13 victims. That means there are a lot of children that we have to protect. You know, we call this campaign 'unknown and unfinished' because we started it last year as an unknown. But we are unfinished because there are a lot of children that we haven't reached. Yes, we have made progress with our partners and nonprofits and law enforcement, but there are a lot more that we have to reach.”
The Tim Tebow Foundation works with law enforcement in hopes of bringing abusers to justice. Tebow and the foundation worked with Homeland Security Investigations on “Operation Renewed Hope 2,” a three-week “surge” of child abuse investigations in 2023.
Tim Tebow (Icon Sport Media via Getty Images/File)
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The foundation said it located “311 probable identifications of previously unknown victims, including 14 positive contacts, and confirmed the rescue of several victims of active abuse.”
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