No

by John Atchison

Created on: February 25, 2009   Last Updated: April 18, 2010

Has the TO show finally run out of stops?  Could it be as we arrive on the heels of the 2010 National Football League draft that Terrell Owens is still not signed with a team.  The answer to that would be a resounding yes.  He was thought to be an almost sure thing for the Bengals, but Cincinnati went in another direction with Antonio Bryant.  Other teams are rumored to be kicking the tires but no offers yet.  Has Owens run out of strikes and should he be out of the NFL now?

If Owens leaves the NFL it will be of his own choice one would bet.  Though he has always walked to the beat of a different drummer during his playing days, he has done nothing as a player that should have him run out of the game.Look being a jerk, not always thinking about the team before yourself, and being a glory hog are not loveable traits in anyone's book, but this man has done nothing akin to warranting expulsion from the league. As long as there are teams looking for a talented, but aging, wide out like TO, there will always be a team that will sign him up for a year and hope for the best.

One needs to look at his career and ask, "What were his first two strikes"? Yes he was let to leave San Francisco after a number of years, and did not make best friends with alleged personal attacks of his quarterback, but did he break a league rule? Not that anyone knows of. How about in Philly?  Sure he had some contentious moments there with both management, as well as Donovan McNabb, but did the league suspend him.  No, in fact the Eagles reached a Super Bowl with him for the first time since 1980, and didn't go back after he left.

You can now see where the theory that this should not even be a debate question comes to rise.  How would you even argue the other side in point unless you were proposing a philosophical debate. Let us examine the league for a moment. In just the past few years, the league has dealt with several bouts of adversity. We have seen numerous cases of spousal abuse, sexual assault, and firearm related activities, which have ended up costing players suspensions from the league. Heck we have even had some of the games biggest stars put in jail or close to it for everything from dog fighting and manslaughter, to two cases of alleged rape. These should be considered strikes in a book, not some team unrest. 

On top of this, let us take a quick look into the steroids and drug related activities that have gone on. At least 10 time during the past few years, and it is probably more if you sit down and think about it,  there have been blurbs in the transactions section of your local sports page documenting another suspension of a player for drug abuse. We are not just talking about the occasional pickup of someone for possession of drugs, but also the players that are testing positive for steroids and HGH.

With having one of the better drug policies around in pro sports, and the fact that random testing does occur, you would think athletes making millions of dollars would refrain. Unfortunately, it is simply not the case. Here again, any of these things would be considered strikes.   Has TO ever been linked to performance enhancers or other drug related maladies?  No he has always played the game on the same level field as most of his competitors.

Gambling? Not that it is a big issue in the NFL, players betting on their teams and all. Did he do this? Not at all. In fact when you look back at the examples I have cited here in this article, you realize that Terrell Owens would be considered a model citizen of the NFL by all accounts. He has never been accused of beatings, toting a gun, smoking a joint, or shooting up with steroids.

Look, many will be overjoyed and waving bye bye and good riddance to the guy when he finally retires from the league, or exhausts the number of teams that were willing to take a chance on him. However, no matter whether he is liked or disliked by you, and whether you see his antics as over the top or childish, he has been a pretty good citizen in terms of dealing with the written rules of this game. So please, dispense with any arguments of three strikes. When this man is gone, it will be because he is too old or burned too many bridges. It will not be for any "strikes related" offense.

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