Tim Tebow agrees that “gay is not ok,” according to controversial pastor Robert Jeffress, who claims the quarterback canceled  a speaking engagement at his church only to avoid controversy right now.

Tebow was scheduled to be at the opening of the First Baptist Church’s new building in April but he canceled after much negative press about the pastor’s anti-gay views and other controversial remarks.

“While I was looking forward to sharing a message of hope and Christ’s unconditional love with the faithful members of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas in April, due to new information that has been brought to my attention, I have decided to cancel my upcoming appearance,” Tebow, a devout Christian, tweeted Thursday.

But Jeffress told the Daily Beast that Tebow contacted him several times and made it clear he was canceling only because the NFL quarterback is trying to avoid controversy right now – not out of disagreement with the pastor’s views. Tebow spent last season with the New York Jets and his future in the league is in doubt.

According to the Daily Beast:

“Tim is a member of a Southern Baptist Church, the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla., that believes exactly what we believe about those issues, and Tim affirmed that that is what their church believes,” Jeffress said. “So I think Tim was probably speaking the truth when he said it wasn’t the belief of our church—it was the controversy surrounding his appearance.”