Soon-to-be Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens made news around the NFL world on Thursday by publicly declining an invite to attend his Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Canton later this summer.
Owens’ announcement was met with a quick rebuke from those on Twitter, as at least one former NFL player asked Owens to expand on his reasoning.
We’re now getting a bit more information courtesy of former NFL player and current ESPN analyst Marcellus Wiley, who texted Owens on Thursday.
Terrell Owens gave some insight as to why he won't be attending his Hall of Fame induction. pic.twitter.com/psC6dfmfva
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) June 8, 2018
“Sometimes you got to do the wrong thing for the right reason, Owens told Wiley. This could be interpreted a number of ways. As a friend of Owens, the NFL analyst said “that to me sounds like he’s taking a stand. And he’s taking a stand and I don’t know exactly what level or direction of protest.”
Ruh roh. Something could be stirring big time in the back end here. Owens has not necessarily made his personal opinions known on a variety of touchy subjects around the United States.
He did, however, just recently call out President Trump for disinviting the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles to the White House due to the team’s perceived disrespect of the national anthem.
“I’m sure it wasn’t him uninviting the Eagles. I’m sure they didn’t want to go,” Owens told TMZ. “How does he uninvite people that didn’t want to go? Come on Donald, let’s keep it real.”
Anything at his point is conjecture. It will certainly be interesting to see what Owens’ reasoning is for skipping the ceremony. We already know he’s unhappy about not being a first ballot Hall of Famer. There’s a chance his absence could be due to that. Potentially, a way for Owens to make a point about the current selection process.
Only time will tell on that front. But get your popcorn ready.