Owens declines HoF Ceremony Invitation

[NFLExpert49]

3 hours ago, PapaShogun said:

Marshawn Lynch has nowhere near the terrible reputation Owens has in regards to making statements in public that can be considered diva like, or throwing teammates under the bus. Same with Duane Thomas who is largely forgotten. I'm just talking about media. Also, he didn't speak to his teammates or coaches either. Owens can choose not to go on radio shows, TV shows, etc. He can choose to be silent. But he widely makes himself available. Another guy who didn't do media sessions for a long time was Gary Zimmerman. Again, Owens isn't forced to participate. 

NFL players are required to make themselves available to the media. There is no rule required for players to be engaging.

Reporters scoping sources isn't the same as Owens giving personal quotations.

Owens continues to make his bed, and he'll have to sleep in it.

Duane Thomas's career ended in a nanosecond over the perception of his personality.

Again, Owens had no choice but to do the postgame press conferences (they're mandatory), and there is absolutely nothing he could do to stop them from lying about what he said in response to their questions. They can interpret them however they want. I gave you a real example of what happened in San Francisco in 2003. That was how the tension with Jeff Garcia started. The media fed their lie about what Owens said to Garcia, and that pissed Garcia off and he responded with his cryptic, "we can not allow this sickness to spread" remark, in reference to Owens. And Garcia's response pissed off Owens. 

Or you can check his "just going with the plays that are called" postgame with the Bills. He got ripped for that, too. What most people don't know is the Bills' PR actually recommended that line to him to use whenever he was asked an inflammatory question. Didn't work. Nothing works because the media has free reign with headlines and editorializing. 

They can take non-answers and make them into "implications." Notice how every supposedly "controversial" thing Owens has "said" was something described as "hinted," "implied," etc. They use those words because he never actually said what they wanted him to say for those controversial headlines. 

And again, they don't even need him to say a word. Not only can they write, "Owens's refusal to answer the question says it all. Blah blah blah," but they can go to Anonymous Sourceville, Ed Werder style, and tell you what Owens secretly thinks about stuff, according to "a source who speaks regularly with Owens's teammates" (when you see this kind of description, it means the reporter is actually citing himself; he speaks with the teammates). Then they can feed something they made up to a teammate and see if the teammate bites on it. 

Ed Werder: Hey Teammate, I was just wondering if I could get your response - under the condition of anonymity if you'd like - to Terrell Owens thinking blah blah blah. According to my source, he thinks blah blah blah.

Teammate: He said that? Seriously?

Ed Werder: Our sources say that's what he thinks.

Teammate: Wow. That's crazy.

People have no idea how devious the media is. Tabloid magazines will actually have their people go into bars and pay people to say stuff they made up, so that technically they have a "source."

Local news crews will actually fake the news. I mean, literally. 

Way back when I was in 8th grade, a local news crew came to my school to do a piece on "spring fever." They pretended they were "going undercover to see if kids really do get spring fever." A bunch of kids in my grade, maybe 30 or so, were rounded up into a makeshift class, and while the teacher was pretending to teach stuff, we were asked to pretend we weren't paying attention. I got to be the kid who stared out the window in one shot.

They set this **** up like they were directing amateur fiction. 

This is how media works. That's the mindset there. It's a business, period, the end. They want viewers, and they will lie to as much of an extent as they can get away with. 

[TecmoSuperJoe]

8 hours ago, NFLExpert49 said:

Duane Thomas's career ended in a nanosecond over the perception of his personality.

Again, Owens had no choice but to do the postgame press conferences (they're mandatory), and there is absolutely nothing he could do to stop them from lying about what he said in response to their questions. They can interpret them however they want. I gave you a real example of what happened in San Francisco in 2003. That was how the tension with Jeff Garcia started. The media fed their lie about what Owens said to Garcia, and that pissed Garcia off and he responded with his cryptic, "we can not allow this sickness to spread" remark, in reference to Owens. And Garcia's response pissed off Owens. 

Or you can check his "just going with the plays that are called" postgame with the Bills. He got ripped for that, too. What most people don't know is the Bills' PR actually recommended that line to him to use whenever he was asked an inflammatory question. Didn't work. Nothing works because the media has free reign with headlines and editorializing. 

They can take non-answers and make them into "implications." Notice how every supposedly "controversial" thing Owens has "said" was something described as "hinted," "implied," etc. They use those words because he never actually said what they wanted him to say for those controversial headlines. 

And again, they don't even need him to say a word. Not only can they write, "Owens's refusal to answer the question says it all. Blah blah blah," but they can go to Anonymous Sourceville, Ed Werder style, and tell you what Owens secretly thinks about stuff, according to "a source who speaks regularly with Owens's teammates" (when you see this kind of description, it means the reporter is actually citing himself; he speaks with the teammates). Then they can feed something they made up to a teammate and see if the teammate bites on it. 

Ed Werder: Hey Teammate, I was just wondering if I could get your response - under the condition of anonymity if you'd like - to Terrell Owens thinking blah blah blah. According to my source, he thinks blah blah blah.

Teammate: He said that? Seriously?

Ed Werder: Our sources say that's what he thinks.

Teammate: Wow. That's crazy.

People have no idea how devious the media is. Tabloid magazines will actually have their people go into bars and pay people to say stuff they made up, so that technically they have a "source."

Local news crews will actually fake the news. I mean, literally. 

Way back when I was in 8th grade, a local news crew came to my school to do a piece on "spring fever." They pretended they were "going undercover to see if kids really do get spring fever." A bunch of kids in my grade, maybe 30 or so, were rounded up into a makeshift class, and while the teacher was pretending to teach stuff, we were asked to pretend we weren't paying attention. I got to be the kid who stared out the window in one shot.

They set this **** up like they were directing amateur fiction. 

This is how media works. That's the mindset there. It's a business, period, the end. They want viewers, and they will lie to as much of an extent as they can get away with. 

Like I said Duane Thomas didn't talk with his teammates and coaches, not just the media. That isn't going to sit over well with any football club. He also had conflicts with the Chargers (like not showing up) and Redskins. Owens has never had any issue not communicating with his teammates. As far as the media goes, he feels free to express himself. 

Again, if the media is out to get him, then don't go on radio shows, TV shows, Dr. Phil, or whatever else. Don't make yourself available. Like I already stated, in post game press conferences there is no rule that requires Owens or any other player to be engaging. Or any coach for that matter. Belichick has done this for years. When was the last time he went on Dr. Phil?

 

Pretty simple solution if you want to get media off your back. Every interview, even after a great win, just do that. Every practice, just do that. Don't share anything. The highs or lows of his profession. Just like Gary Zimmerman did. It won't make media completely vanish, but it will help immensely. But no, Owens needs to be in the spotlight. He just needs to continue to do tons of interviews to stay relevant. He likes the attention. Remember the workout in the driveway in front of media after he was sent home by Andy Reid? That's just who he is. If Owens never spoke another word after maybe the incident in Dallas with the star, he'd be in a much better position as of today as far as the perception of his character is concerned. 

Ed Werder isn't to blame on Owens deciding to go on radio shows, talk shows, TV shows, or wherever. That's on Owens. He isn't the first big name to deal with media in his face, and won't be the last. Other players have found ways to deal with the media as professional athletes. Owens, post retirement is still running in circles whining about his character being victimized, crying about things that happened 15 years or so ago instead of just getting over it. 

I do agree the media does sensationalize. That's what they do. Doesn't mean you have to help them shoot yourself in the foot. Heck, the other day a report came out about Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs and his camp having said this or that about how he felt regarding the organization and how it handled his medical situation. Leonard hasn't come out since then and said this or that was or wasn't true. He's just stayed silent. Because he doesn't care about people he doesn't know talking about his character. Especially when he didn't directly say anything. He doesn't take the bait, because he doesn't care. And I doubt staying silent is going to screw over his legacy. 

[LaserFocus]

11 hours ago, NFLExpert49 said:

But the world is out to get Owens. That's what you don't seem to realize.

They have been out to get him ever since he did the star celebrations and refused to apologize for them. 

You have no idea what it's like to be targeted by thousands of sports media members. You have no idea what it's like to have them maliciously lie about your perfectly politically correct answers to their questions, to where not only does the public think you said things you never actually said, but some of your own teammates do as well. You have no idea what it's like for those same liars to use their own lies against you to libel and slander you yet again when your name comes up for a potential award. 

Owens has already thanked all those people many times. 

And if it's about all those people who helped Owens along the way, why did the journalists insist on keeping those people who helped Owens from these nationally televised "thank yous" they supposedly deserve? 

Yes, the media gets it wrong in both sports and elsewhere, but it's silly to suggest the world is out to get Terrell Owens. His dumb celebrations were over the top, it has nothing to do with political correctness. I don't know what the media has to do with ripping your own QB on the sidelines, or many other incidents. It's simply immature to not appear at the HOF ceremony, he can easily avoid the writers who were against his induction. This is the moment for Terrell Owens, and he could have told his own story.    

[Forge]

3 hours ago, LaserFocus said:

Yes, the media gets it wrong in both sports and elsewhere, but it's silly to suggest the world is out to get Terrell Owens. His dumb celebrations were over the top, it has nothing to do with political correctness. 

In fairness, the sharpie was a defining moment in the realm of touchdown celebrations lol. You can view it as good or bad, but either way, I thought it was  pretty amazing. 

[Mossburg]

The people making a case for Marvin Harrison should look at his playoff production.

[MWil23]

17 minutes ago, Forge said:

In fairness, the sharpie was a defining moment in the realm of touchdown celebrations lol. You can view it as good or bad, but either way, I thought it was  pretty amazing. 

I'll raise you this:

[Forge]

Just now, MWil23 said:

I'll raise you this:

I actually thought the Sharpie was vastly superior. One, because it was first. But two, just because I didn't really understand the point of the phone, to be quite honest,outside of the fact that it was a bigger prop lol. The sharpie had slightly more layering with regards to gloating in my opinion as well. I don't know, the cell phone celebration just always left me a bit cold. 

[MWil23]

1 minute ago, Forge said:

I actually thought the Sharpie was vastly superior. One, because it was first. But two, just because I didn't really understand the point of the phone, to be quite honest,outside of the fact that it was a bigger prop lol. The sharpie had slightly more layering with regards to gloating in my opinion as well. I don't know, the cell phone celebration just always left me a bit cold. 

I didn't even think that the Sharpie was Owens' best. I thought it was clearly this:

Followed by this:

Followed by this:

[TecmoSuperJoe]

The Joe Horn cellphone thing was dumb looking back at it. What was he doing? Calling a buddy?

[Forge]

2 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

I didn't even think that the Sharpie was Owens' best. I thought it was clearly this:

 

Honestly, have always been torn on how I feel about the Dallas celebration. Given the dislike between the two teams at the time (even though it had died considerably down from their early 90's hey day), it is the ultimate in showing up your opponent and getting under their skin. But it was also very prickish lol. 

[MWil23]

Just now, Forge said:

Honestly, have always been torn on how I feel about the Dallas celebration. Given the dislike between the two teams at the time (even though it had died considerably down from their early 90's hey day), it is the ultimate in showing up your opponent and getting under their skin. But it was also very ******-y lol. 

Oh for sure! But I thought that it made TD celebrations relevant and personal as opposed to simply fun loving and "harmless" LOL.

[TecmoSuperJoe]

2 minutes ago, Forge said:

Honestly, have always been torn on how I feel about the Dallas celebration. Given the dislike between the two teams at the time (even though it had died considerably down from their early 90's hey day), it is the ultimate in showing up your opponent and getting under their skin. But it was also very prickish lol. 

The rivalry was clearly over at that point. Owens doing it once was whatever. Then he decided to keep on doing it. At that point he was just being a ****. Can't blame Dallas getting ticked off.

[TecmoSuperJoe]

Best celebration a player could do BTW. At least to me.

[NFLExpert49]

5 hours ago, LaserFocus said:

Yes, the media gets it wrong in both sports and elsewhere, but it's silly to suggest the world is out to get Terrell Owens. His dumb celebrations were over the top, it has nothing to do with political correctness. I don't know what the media has to do with ripping your own QB on the sidelines, or many other incidents. It's simply immature to not appear at the HOF ceremony, he can easily avoid the writers who were against his induction. This is the moment for Terrell Owens, and he could have told his own story.    

He never ripped his QB on the sidelines. You see what I mean? You don't even know what you're talking about.

His TD celebrations were harmless. And yet this was the reaction to them: 

 

[NFLExpert49]

8 hours ago, PapaShogun said:

Like I said Duane Thomas didn't talk with his teammates and coaches, not just the media. That isn't going to sit over well with any football club. He also had conflicts with the Chargers (like not showing up) and Redskins. Owens has never had any issue not communicating with his teammates. As far as the media goes, he feels free to express himself. 

Again, if the media is out to get him, then don't go on radio shows, TV shows, Dr. Phil, or whatever else. Don't make yourself available. Like I already stated, in post game press conferences there is no rule that requires Owens or any other player to be engaging. Or any coach for that matter. Belichick has done this for years. When was the last time he went on Dr. Phil?

 

Pretty simple solution if you want to get media off your back. Every interview, even after a great win, just do that. Every practice, just do that. Don't share anything. The highs or lows of his profession. Just like Gary Zimmerman did. It won't make media completely vanish, but it will help immensely. But no, Owens needs to be in the spotlight. He just needs to continue to do tons of interviews to stay relevant. He likes the attention. Remember the workout in the driveway in front of media after he was sent home by Andy Reid? That's just who he is. If Owens never spoke another word after maybe the incident in Dallas with the star, he'd be in a much better position as of today as far as the perception of his character is concerned. 

Ed Werder isn't to blame on Owens deciding to go on radio shows, talk shows, TV shows, or wherever. That's on Owens. He isn't the first big name to deal with media in his face, and won't be the last. Other players have found ways to deal with the media as professional athletes. Owens, post retirement is still running in circles whining about his character being victimized, crying about things that happened 15 years or so ago instead of just getting over it. 

I do agree the media does sensationalize. That's what they do. Doesn't mean you have to help them shoot yourself in the foot. Heck, the other day a report came out about Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs and his camp having said this or that about how he felt regarding the organization and how it handled his medical situation. Leonard hasn't come out since then and said this or that was or wasn't true. He's just stayed silent. Because he doesn't care about people he doesn't know talking about his character. Especially when he didn't directly say anything. He doesn't take the bait, because he doesn't care. And I doubt staying silent is going to screw over his legacy. 

OK. You want to see what the reaction was for Terrell Owens simply not being engaging with the media? 

http://www.49erswebzone.com/commentary/101-the-media-vs-terrell-owens/

That was in 2001. After week 2.

Other players are not in the same situation Owens was in. Not anywhere close. Gary Zimmerman...who wanted to vilify freak'n Gary Zimmerman? For what? 

Odell Beckham Jr is the closest thing to someone being where Owens was with the media after the star celebrations. We'll see where he ends up in a few years, but I don't think it's going to be pretty.

"Remember the workout in the driveway in front of the media after he was sent home by Andy Reid?" Remember how for the first time in the history of sports, the media stalked a player at his house after he had been suspended for a week from training camp and was just shooting baskets on his driveway? They even sent a helicopter flying over his house. 

Owens does some interviews because everyone asks him to. Constantly. He is actually being selective. 

If he weren't, you would have had Charlie Sheen 2011 on your hands.