Was there any doubt to how the Terrell Owens saga would end? The petulant receiver has been banished from the Philadelphia Eagles, four games being an unpaid suspension and the rest a paid vacation.
But if you think Owens is the only one that deserves blame for this situation then you’re sorely mistaken. Of course he’s not absolved of all blame, but in this case there is plenty to go around for everybody.
The Eagles knew what they were getting into.
When you trade for a receiver who has been suspended for mocking another team (his infamous celebration on the Dallas star) you know what you’re getting.
When you trade for a receiver who openly criticized his coach and quarterback in San Francisco, you know what you’re getting.
When you trade for a receiver who has refused a trade to the Ravens and bad mouthed the organization in the process, you know what you’re getting.
And finally, when a player, with all of the above in his past ,says that if he does not receive a new contract he will be unhappy, then you should be able to anticipate what unhappiness entails.
Owens is a jerk, and probably more, but that is the most suitable word for a public newspaper.
However, if the Eagles didn’t think they were trading for a jerk then they are fools. If they thought that things would change because, “they said so,” then they are fools.
No, what they thought was that Owens was worth the trouble if it meant winning a Super Bowl.
People will do anything to win and Owens knows it. Do you really think he was born such an egomaniacal jerk?
Of course not.
It was something that has been building in him his entire life as everyone has looked the other way if it meant success.
Perhaps this should be looked at as the comeuppance due to every sports franchise that has helped foster these sorts of attitudes in athletes.
Owens is just doing what he’s always done, and the Eagles knew it when they signed him to a contract. They should have known to expect that he wouldn’t be satisfied with the contract, his role, his teammates or pretty much anything else.
Now they are ridding themselves of the headache that is Terrell Owens. Pardon me if I don’t shed a tear.
And don’t expect me to cry for the next team that falls for the trap that is Owens. But hey, maybe they’ll win the Super Bowl and it will all be worth it.
