Originally posted by dj43:
I was short of time.
I have said from the beginning that his on-field performance deserves HOF. From there I have only been pointing out why the voters may be rejecting him. I don't know all the answers but the one thing I do not accept is the assertion that it was because the media was putting too much pressure on coaches like Andy Reid to get rid of him. That is a non-starter. Reid has withstood a great deal of media pressure on a lot of things that have much more impact on him personally than TO's locker room presence.
So it is really a matter of perception on the part of the voters, and the sources they rely on to form that perception, as to Owens' influence on the teams for which he played. In the minds of those voters, who have voted in several players with "character flaws," what Owens did deserves to have him sit for a while before he gets in.
Now, some of that may be related to how he treated the media at times. I don't doubt that there may be some of that, and his recent comments only add more fuel to that fire. In the end, it is certainly a combination of both of those things that have kept him out so far. For those that did not vote for him, his attitude only reinforces their perception that he was not a team player in some way. That will likely change at some future time but in the meantime, you don't run around calling it a "flawed process." A lot of deserving players had to wait, some for over a decade, but they got in. How long TO has to wait 
No, it wasn't about the media putting pressure on Reid. It was two things:
1. Reid being concerned about the media's effect on Owens's teammates. The media was hounding them and creating a distraction. Not Owens himself - the media Owens couldn't control. Part of this distraction was certain players being upset with him because they mistakenly thought he had taken a shot at McNabb. This is why Reid asked him to stand in front of the team and clear it up.
2. The front office - Lurie and Banner - putting pressure on Reid to get him under control. This was about a perceived pattern of insubordination. Owens had been sent 3 letters before the season warning him about this. His teammates loved him, however he was, as Artis Hicks put it, putting himself against the people he believed were responsible for him not getting a new contract. These letters were about things such as skipping autograph sessions and disrespecting certain coaches one-on-one.
Reid told Owens that if he adhered to the stipulations, he would remain on the team and not be suspended for a single day. It was when Owens refused to apologize to the team for/clear up the Bensinger interview that he moved to suspend and deactivate him.
[ Edited by YoungKubiakEagles94 on Feb 9, 2017 at 3:30 PM ]
