Terrell Owens has been very animated in expressing his outrage over being kept out of the Hall of Fame for a second consecutive year, and many believe he is hurting his case even further with his outspokenness.
Just don’t tell T.O. that.
Owens, who insists he has moved past worrying about getting into Canton, continues to defend himself on Twitter. On Tuesday, Gary Meyers of the New York Daily News — a Hall of Fame voter — wrote a column in which he cited an anonymous Hall of Fame voter who urged Owens to stop complaining.
“I told him he is dividing the selection committee just like he divided locker rooms,” the Hall of Famer reportedly told Meyers. “I told him to be quiet, let the process work and he will get in.”
The same unnamed Hall of Famer also revealed that Owens told him he bought his own custom gold jacket and had his career stats placed on the back of it. Meyers proceeded to rip Owens as well, writing that the more he criticizes the process “the harder he makes it for himself.”
It wasn’t long before Owens fired back.
Tell Gary Myers that I could care less. He & anybody can try to get under my skin by saying they'll take certain guys over me. lol ok Fine. https://t.co/tGJsx3GILM
— Terrell Owens (@terrellowens) March 1, 2017
I'll fight for my character, I'll fight for who I am. To say I was a horrible teammate then I can say the system is flawed. It is what it is https://t.co/tGJsx3GILM
— Terrell Owens (@terrellowens) March 1, 2017
If me defending my character sheds light on what needs to be changed then so be it. I am the prototype! I am a voice. https://t.co/tGJsx3GILM
— Terrell Owens (@terrellowens) March 1, 2017
If they don't want me in then don't put me on the ballot. I've been told that life isn't fair but life goes on. #faith #family https://t.co/5ehJvVZypX
— Terrell Owens (@terrellowens) March 1, 2017
The numbers are there for Owens, who ranks second in the NFL all time in receiving yards with 15,934, third in touchdowns with 153 and eighth in receptions with 1,078. Voters have kept him out to this point because they believe he was a bad teammate and a distraction in the locker room. For someone who never cheated or got into any real off-the-field trouble, that is a dangerous precedent for voters to set.
Owens recently went as far as to say he wouldn’t even show up if he was voted into the Hall of Fame next year, and he has gone to war with other writers on Twitter in recent weeks. He’s probably going to get into Canton eventually, but the situation has gotten quite ugly.
