As if the Terrell Owens situation weren’t irritating enough, he has now enlisted the help of the Rev. Jesse Jackson in his effort to either be reinstated or released as an active member of the Philadelphia Eagles.
On Sunday, as the Eagles prepared for a Monday Night Football showdown with the Dallas Cowboys, Owens was in Atlanta taking in the Falcons vs. Green Bay Packer game.
Jackon reiterated his quotes from a statement he released on Friday with Owens at his side.
Jackson said Owens’ punishment – suspension without pay for four games and deactivation for the rest of the season – is “much too severe for the charge” and hurts the athlete’s NFL career at its height.
The civil rights activist said this level of punishment could have been warranted if Owens had been caught shaving points, selling drugs, carrying a gun or fighting fans without sufficient restraint.
“This does not warrant a one-year ban from the game,” Jackson said.
There are so many things wrong with this statement it could be analyzed for hours, but let’s start with the “one-year ban.”
We should all be so lucky to face a one-year ban that really means having a seven-week vacation of which four weeks are paid. As for “hurting the athlete at the height of his career,” the fact is that Owens managed to do something few players have done in the history of the National Football League. He got himself kicked off the team.
The Eagles basically said, “We’d rather take our chances without you, then with you.” T.O. got exactly what he deserved, and the SportsEye knows that there are many Americans – black and white – that deserve Jackson’s attention much more than a spoiled brat who should seek counseling to control his mouth.
