A few weeks ago, Terrell Owens shocked the world by announcing he wouldn’t be attending the NFL’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Owens was arguably one of the best wide receivers of his generation but still had to wait a few extra years to get into the Hall of Fame. Most experts and Owens thought he was being held out due to petty reasons. Owen had the stats to justifiably be in the hall, but his off the field attitude is what kept him out. Now the Hall of Fame is getting back at Owens for skipping the ceremony.
Will the Hall call TO’s name?
Owens skipping the ceremony is unprecedented. No living player has ever skipped their induction ceremony, and now the Hall is stuck trying to figure out how to induct Owens. So instead of calling Owens’ name, the Hall is going to act like he doesn’t exist. In a recent interview, Hall of Fame executive director Joe Horrigan said that Owens won’t be mentioned during the gold jacket ceremony or the induction ceremony.
“The focus is on the guys who are here,” Horrigan said.
It seems like a petty move by the Hall and seems to justify a lot of the things Owens had been saying about the Hall for years. It looks like the stats and records aren’t good enough for the Hall, and that players have to play by their rules to be acknowledged.
Horrigan also said that TO’s gold jacket will be mailed to him first thing Saturday morning.
Where will Owens be?
With one great Hall of Fame speech TO could have broken the image, so many in the media and Hall of Fame have tried to make him be. For nearly his entire career Owens was publicly seen as a distraction and team destroyer.
But instead of going to the Hall of Fame, Owens plans to celebrate his enshrinement at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Owens announced that he would be giving an acceptance speech on campus the afternoon of Aug 4 and that the event will be free to the public.
