Senior Punished For 'Tebowing' on Stage During Graduation

Senior Punished For 'Tebowing' on Stage During Graduation
Fitzgerald Cecilio

Fort Myers, FL

New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow is famous for kneeling and praying before and after a game, a move now more popularly known as "Tebowing".

This move has catapulted Tebow's popularity to greater heights because he shows no reservations in expressing his Christian faith to the world.

"Tebowing" was even imitated by colleagues in the National Football League (NFL) and millions all over the world.

But for Chuck Shriner, imitating Tebow's signature move on stage during graduation earned him a punishment.

Acting on a $5 bet with a classmate, Shriner went down on one knee and bowed his head on stage during Bishop Verot Catholic High's graduation ceremony.

"I just thought it was fun. I was just doing it to make graduation memorable," Shriner told NBC affiliate WPTV.

But Bishop Verot principal John Cavell and Shriner's mother, a math teacher at the school, were not amused by his act.

As punishment, Shriner had to clean up the gymnasium, where the graduation ceremony was held, before receiving the diploma.

A spokesman for the school said the punishment was the idea of Shriner's mother.

"They said what I did would give underclassmen inspiration to do something else, that it might lead to something else," Shriner told WPTV. "So they were trying to set an example."

"She (my mother) was really mad but I think it was worth it," said Shriner, who will attend the University of Central Florida in the fall.