T.O. apologizes, but Eagles won't take him back

[Walter Cronkite]

Flanked by agent Drew Rosenhaus, Terrell Owens offered an apology to his Eagles teammates.

Terrell Owens wants to return to the Eagles, but the team won't have him.

A contrite Owens, hoping to overturn his dismissal from the Philadelphia Eagles, on Tuesday apologized to coach Andy Reid, quarterback Donovan McNabb, the team's owner and president, and fans.

ESPN's Sal Paolantonio spoke to a top Eagles official, who told Paolantonio that Owens will not be rejoining the team. The official added that even if Owens' suspension is not upheld by an arbitrator, Owens will still not play for the Eagles this season.

His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Owens was making a public apology in hopes of returning to the Eagles immediately.

"We hope he plays again for the Philadelphia Eagles," Rosenhaus said.

"I fight for what I think is right. In doing so, I alienated a lot of my fans and my teammates," Owens said, reading a statement outside his house in Moorestown, N.J., outside Philadelphia.

"It really hurts me not to be a part of this team anymore," Owens said.

Rosenhaus said Owens wants to return to the Eagles "ASAP."

Owens on Monday was told by the team not to return this season. The decision resulted from "a large number of situations that accumulated over a long period of time, during which Terrell had been warned repeatedly about the consequences of his actions," Reid said.

The All-Pro wide receiver didn't play in Sunday night's 17-10 loss at Washington, and will remain suspended for three more games without pay. After that, the Eagles plan to deactivate him for the rest of the season.

He was suspended Saturday, two days after he said the Eagles showed "a lack of class" for not publicly recognizing his 100th career touchdown catch in a game on Oct. 23. In the same interview with ESPN.com on Thursday, Owens said the Eagles would be better off with Green Bay's Brett Favre at quarterback instead of McNabb.

Owens apologized specifically to Reid, McNabb, Eagles president Joe Banner, owner Jeffrey Lurie and to fans.

To McNabb, Owens said, "I apologize to him for any comments that may have been negative."

Source: AP

[Flying High]

I SUPPORT TERRELL OWENS

For all those jumping on TO, he has a point about his 100 reception should have been recognized. That catch placed him as the top 4 receiver of ALL TIME. But the Eagle's organization didn't want to recognize him because they are pompous and didn't want to up TO's ante for a contract renewal. Now they are attempting to make TO the scapegoat so that he may not get a big contract from anyone. Some of you need to understand the politics of what the league is doing with TO. They are using him as an excuse and example so that they will not have to pay the big bucks that he deserve.

Whether the Eagles organization or his team want to admit, TO caught some balls from McNabb that no other receiver would ever catch. And he is the reason they were elevated to a Superbowl team. Just observe him rushing back to play in the Superbowl when he had an injury that most players would be out the rest of the season. Yes, he has an ego, but so did Michael Jordan and many who want to win.

[veritaz]

theres no "I" in team

I dont think it would really matter if he came to play this season either way I doubt if Mcnabb would even pass to him as his key reciever anymore its the same as if a quaterback belittled his linemen the linemen would guard the quaterback 100% of the game , T.O. can sulck in his actions and think about what he says for his next team .

[AndySMC]

I'm sure that Terrell Owens "apologized" on the urging of Drew Rosenhaus, his agent. If he doesn't play the rest of the season, it will cost him about $850,000 which means the agent doesn't get paid either. Just because he apologized, it doesn't remove what he said, he practically called McNabb an "Uncle Tom". If the Eagles cave in and reinstate him, shame on them, he'll pull some other crap later the next time he feels slighted. His apology means nothing.

[Flying High]

The Eagles Organization Is Resonsible

The Eagles organization is resonsible for this T. O. mess. When Owens asked for a new contract, they had 3 legitamate choices. One, give him the new contract to make him happy, at least for this season. Two, not give him the new contract and cut him. Three, not give him the new contract and expect that Owens would be a team player.

Option three was eliminated right away, because Owens told the Eagles before training camp that he would not be happy if he did not get a new deal. And he clearly demonstrated before and during training camp, what the Eagles could expect from him, if he did not get a new deal. But the Eagles ignored all of that and chose option three anyway. Bad Choice!!!

By choosing option three, they matched and maybe exceeded the arrogance and egotism displayed by Owens. They actually believed they could make Owens shut up and just play ball without a new deal. They actually believed they could force him to comply with their wishes without a new deal. They could not have been more wrong. They are now paying a price for their poor decison.

And rather than accept responsiblilty for the consequences of their choice, and acknowledge their mistake, they choose to make themselves into victims, as if Owens has perpetrated some horrible crime against them. Please! Owens hasn't done a thing to the Eagles. The Eagles have done it to themselves by allowing their pride and arrogance to affect their decison making process. The only thing Owens has done, is what he said he would do if he did not get a new deal. And again, he said that before training camp started. The Eagles should have taken him seriously and selected option one or two. Instead, their season is a mess and they have no one to blame but themselves.