The New York Jets Tim Tebow has lashed out at his critics Wednesday for reporting he demanded out of coach Rex Ryan's Wildcat package.

Tebow said he was so upset with the perception that he was a quitter on the team that it actually put a damper on his Christmas.

"For people to not know the situation and to bash your character and say you're a phony, you're a fake and you're a hypocrite, I think that's what's disappointing and that's what's frustrating," he said. "It's a football game. That's one thing, if you're good or bad at football, but your character and integrity, that's who you are as a man.

"That's a lot more important. That's what's disappointing for me and frustrating because I take that way more serious than I'll ever take a football game."

All this erupted Sunday night when multiple reports surfaced that Tebow was upset about being passed over for the starting quarterback job.

Tebow has confirmed that he was a little annoyed that Greg McElroy was named to replace Mark Sanchez as the Jet's starter. He also admitted he told Ryan he was unhappy in his role in the Wildcat -- but claimed he never asked out of the package.

"I never said, 'Hey, I don't want to do anything or I won't do anything,' " Tebow said. "That wasn't the talk at all. He knows that and everybody on this team knows I would never not do something if I was asked.

"That's what's disappointing, people saying, 'You quit' or, 'You didn't do this.' That was not it at all. It was me asking to get an opportunity to play the position I love, which is quarterback. It wasn't me asking out of anything."

Even with their season coming to an end, Ryan's Jets' still manage to grab headlines.

Related Articles:

2012 NFL Pro Bowl Voting: Who Will Be AFC Starters? Peyton Manning Gets the Call

NFL Pro Bowl Snubs: Drew Brees, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Dez Bryant and Richard Sherman Top List of Deserving Players