Terrell Owens is doing his own thing for his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Tuesday, Owens announced that instead of traveling to Canton, Ohio, he will deliver his Hall of Fame speech at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, on Saturday, Aug. 4.
Terrell Owens will give Hall of Fame speech at his alma mater, a place that appreciated him from the start
Owens will celebrate his enshrinement in a place that appreciated him from the start, unlike the Hall of Fame.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Owens announced in June he had already declined the invite to the ceremony, although he didn’t reveal what his plans were until now. On Tuesday, he said wants to spend “what will inevitably be the best weekend of my life at a place that means so much to me.”
Owens’ speech will be on the same day other enshrinees like Randy Moss and Ray Lewis give their speeches in Canton. The ceremony isn’t scheduled to begin until 7 p.m. ET, so people could watch both, although it’s unclear for now if Owens’ speech will be televised.
There was plenty of hand-wringing when Owens announced he’d skip the traditional Hall of Fame celebration. Some HOF voters even said they wouldn’t have voted for Owens if they knew he was going to choose not to go to Canton.
But it’s a fitting celebration for a player who spent much of his career doing things the way he wanted to do them, even if it made people angry.
His reputation as a diva and “bad teammate” meant he had to wait longer than he should have to get into the Hall of Fame. He was snubbed twice by Hall of Fame voters, and tweeted about his frustrations in 2017.
Owens’ decision to celebrate at UT-Chattanooga is a chance for the receiver to show appreciation to a place that respected his abilities from the start. The Hall of Fame didn’t do that.
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