Considering Terrell Owens hasn’t committed any crimes, I can’t remember seeing an NFL superstar of T. O.’s caliber fall from grace in such a way. First of all, seldom does an All-Pro NFL star ever stoop to playing in the arena leagues, and to actually be cut from an Indoor Football League team has to be a huge blow to one’s ego. Owens, once a marquee wide receiver in San Francisco and Dallas, was released by the Allen Wranglers of the IFL on Tuesday.
What prompted the move, according to team owner Jon Frankel, wasn’t really news to those who have played with or coached T.O. According to the owner, Owens failed to honor his contract by refusing to play in two of the team’s games and his failure to appear at a children’s hospital for a team event. Again, none of this is news to fans or officials of either of T. O.’s former NFL teams.
Owens joined the Wranglers, hoping to perform well enough in that venue to draw some kind of interest by another NFL team, so these incidents are very curious if that was his motivation. At 38 years old, he is no longer a prime time receiver by NFL standards. However, T. O. still possessed enough raw talent and probably could have helped some teams in the NFL even now, but the baggage was a tough lift for most of the league’s general managers, who didn’t want to take the chance of rupturing the cohesion in their locker rooms.
