When Terrell Owens blew up in San Francisco, he did not behave well at all. His actions were deplorable and he threw his quarterback and his coach under the bus. What happened was not especially different from what goes on from time to time when teams are struggling (see: Jeremey Shockey and Kellen Winslow). It doesn't make his actions acceptable, but the media latched onto the story and exacerbated it. In hindsight, one thing that goes unnoticed is that Owens was right about Garcia and Mooch. T.O. clearly does not deal with the media well and allows them to bully him into saying things he shouldn't in interviews. He needs to learn to say "no comment" and it seemed like he finally had this season.
After Owens arrived in Philadelphia, he was under a microscope. You could practically see the reporters salivating when Philadelphia struggled. McNabb and Owens even mocked the media spotlight by pretending to have an argument during a win. Later, McNabb had thrown a couple of interceptions and Owens was in his face on the sideline. According to both players, Owens was telling McNabb to keep his head up, they were not out of the game, and all they could do was wait until they got the ball back and go out there to make plays. The media seemed more dissappointed that it wasn't a controversy than when they found out as children that Santa Claus was not real.
When Owens made a heroic recovery to come back and play in the Super Bowl, the story was that he was doing it for personal glory. Owens was upset because the team would not give him any guarantees if he were to get re-injured in the Super Bowl. Donovan McNabb let down the Eagles by partying it up in Jacksonville and then lost his composure and became tired and could not even call plays on the final drive in the big game. That story came out from Freddy Mitchell, not Terrell Owens.
The media somehow managed to find a way to rip into T.O. about the Super Bowl instead of Donovan McNabb. I am not sure how that even happens. One guy was playing through an injury and putting it all on the line for the team, while the other let his team down because he was out partying. It is easy to see why Terrell Owens felt like the media was making him a villain.
Terrell Owens did not even hold out in Philadelphia in 2005. He complained about his contract and wanted a new one. He reported to camp and said that they would talk again about his contract after the Eagles won the 2006 Super Bowl. It goes unnoticed that Brian Westbrook was actually holding out during that training camp and McNabb came forward in support of Westbrook and said the Eagles should pay him. By coming out in favor of Westbrook and not Owens, you can understand how Owens felt slighted.
McNabb played terribly in 2005 and was injured. Terrell Owens probably shouldn't have answered those questions about what if Brett Favre was at quarterback, but all he said was that Favre was a warrior and has shown he could play through injuries. A lot of reporters thought McNabb was hurting the team by not just getting his sports hernia operated on at the start of the year, so he could come back later in the year. Owens blamed McNabb's poor performance on an injury. Is that so terrible? Once Owens opened his mouth, everyone forgot they were saying the same thing about McNabb. Somehow nobody remembered that McNabb was throwing more bounce passes than John Stockton. Should Owens have kept his mouth shut? Yes. Did he say something disastrous? No. Did the media contribute to stirring up the controversy more so than Owens, McNabb, or anyone on the Eagles? Absolutely.
As for this recent event, let's say Terrell Owens did attempt suicide. If that is the case, then who would blame him. The media at large appears to think it is their responsibility to bash him at every turn. Look in the mirror and blame yourselves. I don't know Terrell Owens mental state or pretend to relate to his upbringing, but I know that it wouldn't feel great to have your intentions questioned at every turn, especially when you lay it on the line for your team. Owens rushed back from an injury to help his team in the Super Bowl and the story was he was playing for personal glory. Joe Thiesmann actually said he thought the T.O. finger injury was good for the Cowboys.
Last year, Hines Ward was also complaining about his contract. Steve Smith complains about his contract. Javon Walker threatened to hold out. This year it was Ashely Lelie and Deion Branch. Did any of those players receive the type of treatment that Terrell Owens did? Let's take a look at his hamstring injury. Hines Ward missed the preseason, Steve Smith missed more time than Owens did. Darrell Jackson sat out all of preseason and training camp. Everyone just assumed Terrell Owens was not really hurt and he was trying to make a media spectacle out of nothing. Let's make sure we say this: Terrell Owens is correct when he says he is singled out.
And if T.O. did attempt suicide, then the reporting of the last day has been deplorable. The primary focus should have been on the well-being of Terrell Owens, discretion protecting his privacy in a personal matter, and patience in getting all of the details. That would have been the courtesy afforded almost anyone else. Not with Owens; the vultures were at work. ESPN has tried to operate with some care, but they had a nice big headline "Report: Suicide Try." Let's get some class fellas. What if he didn't attempt suicide; great job racking him through the mud. Let's stop bashing a guy at every turn and always assuming the worst motives. Owens has no chance to succeed the way he has been treated and it is time for it to stop. Enough is enough.
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