Tim Tebow’s baseball career might be considered somewhat of a farce, but an incident involving an alleged stalker at New York Mets training camp nearly became terrifyingly real.
According to the New York Daily News, Port St. Lucie police arrested a 36-year-old Michelle Marie Thompson last week on trespassing chargers after she reportedly stalked Tebow.
Thompson reportedly was issued a trespassing warning at First Data Field after attempting to get to Tebow. Two days later, she returned to the spring training complex and was arrested.
Strangely enough, Thompson claimed to police that she was in a “romantic” and “matrimonial” relationship with Tebow. Things got even stranger after authorities turned over Thompson’s driver’s license:
“I turned it over to look at the DL Class, and noticed a small sticker on the back which read “I (Heart Symbol) Jesus/Tim Tebow.” When asked why she was at the sports complex, she said that she was there to see Tim Tebow,” the report reads. When the responding officer asked Thompson if she and Tebow were in a “friendly relationship, a platonic relationship, a romantic relationship or possibly a matrimonial relationship,” Thompson responded, “All of the above.”
To add to the weirdness, Thompson listed Tebow’s Jacksonville address as her own, after revealing her driver’s license address wasn’t current,
Police reportedly found a copy of Tebow’s autobiography “Shaken” in Thompson’s car. A criminal background check discovered she had previously been arrested for indecent exposure in Colorado.
Thankfully, Tebow didn’t come face-to-face with Thompson. There’s fandom and there’s obsession; Thomspon’s alleged actions blurred those lines.
Often, athletes are put on pedestals due to their fame and wealth. Some fans — who have trouble navigating reality — create fake scenarios and unintentionally endanger figures like Tebow, in order to fulfill their untrue fantasies. Fortunately, police and staff intervened and kept Tebow out of harm’s way.
Silly stalker, doesn’t she know he’s married to God?
The real crime is that the Mets are wasting a roster spot on Tebow.