MTK
04-08-2010, 11:04 AM
Controversy with Eagles
During his weekly Philadelphia sports radio show on WIP (AM) prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys, Owens stated if he could return to the 2004 off-season he would not have signed with the Eagles. After the Dallas game, in which the Eagles were badly beaten, Owens was seen by Philadelphia Daily News reporters wearing a Michael Irvin throwback football jersey on the way to the Eagles airplane flight. Irvin was a hall-of-fame wide receiver for the Cowboys during the '90s when the Cowboys-Eagles rivalry was perhaps the most intense.
As a result, Owens's appearance in the jersey was seen as provocative in the Philadelphia press and by many fans. According to sources and Andy Reid's post-game press conference, none of Owens's teammates or coaches challenged him. The following Friday, on Owens's radio show, he stated he did not care what the fans thought of him wearing the jersey and that he would wear what he chooses. It is well known that Owens and Irvin are good friends.
On November 3, 2005, Hugh Douglas, former Philadelphia Eagles Defensive End, acting as an ambassador for team management, started to have an argument with Owens in front of the team in the locker room before practice. Soon, this led to a short fight between the two.[22]
That afternoon Owens made a number of controversial statements during an ESPN interview. In the interview, Owens voiced his frustrations of the Eagles not recognizing his 100th career TD. He referred to the Eagles as a classless organization for the way they behaved. The Eagles have since stated that the Club does not recognize individual achievements.
When asked whether or not he agreed with a comment made by ESPN analyst and good friend Michael Irvin, Owens agreed to the statement, saying that he thought the Eagles would be undefeated if Brett Favre were on the team instead of Donovan McNabb. Owens went on to expand on the point, calling Brett Favre a warrior. Many people took offense at this, since it appeared as though Owens was claiming that McNabb, who was playing with a sports hernia among other injuries, was not a warrior. This interview effectively ended Owens's career in Philadelphia.
During his weekly news conference the following day, Eagles head coach Andy Reid said that Owens had been suspended for four games—starting with the 17-10 loss to the Washington Redskins on November 6—for conduct detrimental to the team. The four games represented the maximum amount of time that a player could be suspended without pay for such conduct under NFL rules. After Owens served his suspension, the Eagles deactivated him from their roster for the remainder of the season, so that they wouldn't be forced to release him and let him sign on with another team.[23]
On November 8, Terrell Owens and his agent Drew Rosenhaus held a news conference at Owens's Moorestown, New Jersey residence. Terrell apologized to the team (including Donovan McNabb) and the fans. After Owens read his statement, Rosenhaus answered questions from reporters. However, Rosenhaus answered many questions, such as "What have you done for T.O. besides get him suspended?" with a "next question." He blamed the media for Owens's current employment status. In his autobiography, "T.O.", Owens did state that most of the apology was forced upon him and not sincere.
On the grounds that deactivation cannot be used as a means of punishment, the NFLPA and Owens appealed the Eagles punishment to an arbitrator. On November 23, 2005, Terrell Owens's season was effectively ended after arbitrator Richard Bloch ruled that the Eagles were justified in suspending him for four games and that they did not have to activate him after the suspension (the Eagles would deactivate him game by game, with pay, for the final five games of the season, but that so long as he was paid, he was not technically suspended). The NFLPA subsequently said they would make sure Bloch never arbitrated with them again.
Terrell Owens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrell_Owens#Controversy_with_Eagles)
During his weekly Philadelphia sports radio show on WIP (AM) prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys, Owens stated if he could return to the 2004 off-season he would not have signed with the Eagles. After the Dallas game, in which the Eagles were badly beaten, Owens was seen by Philadelphia Daily News reporters wearing a Michael Irvin throwback football jersey on the way to the Eagles airplane flight. Irvin was a hall-of-fame wide receiver for the Cowboys during the '90s when the Cowboys-Eagles rivalry was perhaps the most intense.
As a result, Owens's appearance in the jersey was seen as provocative in the Philadelphia press and by many fans. According to sources and Andy Reid's post-game press conference, none of Owens's teammates or coaches challenged him. The following Friday, on Owens's radio show, he stated he did not care what the fans thought of him wearing the jersey and that he would wear what he chooses. It is well known that Owens and Irvin are good friends.
On November 3, 2005, Hugh Douglas, former Philadelphia Eagles Defensive End, acting as an ambassador for team management, started to have an argument with Owens in front of the team in the locker room before practice. Soon, this led to a short fight between the two.[22]
That afternoon Owens made a number of controversial statements during an ESPN interview. In the interview, Owens voiced his frustrations of the Eagles not recognizing his 100th career TD. He referred to the Eagles as a classless organization for the way they behaved. The Eagles have since stated that the Club does not recognize individual achievements.
When asked whether or not he agreed with a comment made by ESPN analyst and good friend Michael Irvin, Owens agreed to the statement, saying that he thought the Eagles would be undefeated if Brett Favre were on the team instead of Donovan McNabb. Owens went on to expand on the point, calling Brett Favre a warrior. Many people took offense at this, since it appeared as though Owens was claiming that McNabb, who was playing with a sports hernia among other injuries, was not a warrior. This interview effectively ended Owens's career in Philadelphia.
During his weekly news conference the following day, Eagles head coach Andy Reid said that Owens had been suspended for four games—starting with the 17-10 loss to the Washington Redskins on November 6—for conduct detrimental to the team. The four games represented the maximum amount of time that a player could be suspended without pay for such conduct under NFL rules. After Owens served his suspension, the Eagles deactivated him from their roster for the remainder of the season, so that they wouldn't be forced to release him and let him sign on with another team.[23]
On November 8, Terrell Owens and his agent Drew Rosenhaus held a news conference at Owens's Moorestown, New Jersey residence. Terrell apologized to the team (including Donovan McNabb) and the fans. After Owens read his statement, Rosenhaus answered questions from reporters. However, Rosenhaus answered many questions, such as "What have you done for T.O. besides get him suspended?" with a "next question." He blamed the media for Owens's current employment status. In his autobiography, "T.O.", Owens did state that most of the apology was forced upon him and not sincere.
On the grounds that deactivation cannot be used as a means of punishment, the NFLPA and Owens appealed the Eagles punishment to an arbitrator. On November 23, 2005, Terrell Owens's season was effectively ended after arbitrator Richard Bloch ruled that the Eagles were justified in suspending him for four games and that they did not have to activate him after the suspension (the Eagles would deactivate him game by game, with pay, for the final five games of the season, but that so long as he was paid, he was not technically suspended). The NFLPA subsequently said they would make sure Bloch never arbitrated with them again.
Terrell Owens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrell_Owens#Controversy_with_Eagles)