It’s been three years since former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he says that he still doesn’t plan to visit the Hall of Fame and believes that the voting system is still flawed. Despite a 16-year career that saw him become of the greatest players of his generation, Owens was not voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame until his third year of eligibility.
“At one point, I became the villain,” Owens told Bob Glauber of Newsday. “When I saw that other guys were doing similar things and looked at in a different light, I knew it was obvious as to what was going on. We talk about systemic racism, I was a part of it. I felt it.
With six Pro Bowl appearances, five First-Team All-Pro selections, and 15,938 receiving yards, which is second all-time, the 47-year old’s accomplishments made it a no-brainer that Terrell Owens should be enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
But it took three years before Terrell Owens became a Hall of Famer because of controversies surrounding his career. He believes last week’s latest Hall of Fame class provided further proof of its flawed system.
While Terrell Owens praised the inclusion of former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson and said he had nothing against the new Hall of Famers, he questioned why other receivers who have done equal or greater things weren’t included on this year’s ballot.
Terrell Owens, however, praised Terez Paylor, a writer, and Hall of Fame voter who died last week at 37, for speaking in favor of his candidacy, which helped him to be finally inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“For [Paylor] to have the courage to stand on the table . . . he didn’t know me personally, but I think him being a Black man and being a young guy and understanding where this generation is now, using our voice, is meaningful,” Terrell Owens said. “I just wish I could have thanked him.”