Just Give Me The Damn Noose
Building on fellow NFL diva Keyshawn Johnson's 1997 book "Just Give Me The Damn Ball," I'd like to nominate a title for what I'm sure will be a Terrell Owens biography out in the next 18 months.
Owens, the unlikable bitch-boy and part-time star receiver, now on his third NFL team in the last three years, tried to kill himself in Dallas Tuesday night. Or so many of us thought.
I'll never criticize anyone who struggles to maintain his mental health. For some people it's more difficult than others, and I myself haven't been above a few bouts with depression in recent years.
But this T.O. thing was fishy right from the start and until old dude Barry raised a logical point in a telephone call Wednesday night. He quoted a well-known sports-talk radio host whose basic point was that "if T.O. really did try to kill himself, the hospital wouldn't have released him so quickly."
I think that makes a lot of sense, but I still can't get over all those who wanted to weigh in with their poor takes, like Deion Sanders and even that former NFL sideline bimbo Lisa Guerrero.
T.O., who admitted to paramedics upon their arrival that he tried to harm himself, later cleared that up by saying he was "groggy" from the mix of painkillers and supplements. I hope Merriam was paying attention, because it seems we have a new defninition for groggy.
And can't you just wait to get home from the pharmacist, after picking up a brand new prescription, so you can put all the pills "in a drawer" somewhere but later be caught with the empty bottle near you as your grogginess takes over. That's how T.O. explained the absence of pills as his publicist, Kim Etheredge (what was she doing at his house?), tried to fish two out of his mouth as they awaited help's arrival.
And it was Etheredge who offered up perhaps the best (meaning weakest, of course) take at a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Dallas. "T.O. has 25 million reasons to live," referring to the $25 million contract Dallas gave him in the offseason. I completely forgot; rich people never try to kill themselves.
So while I do believe T.O. in his claim that he didn't try to kill himself, the story just sounds like swiss cheese. I can't help but recall an old friend's take that T.O. has some serious mental health issues, clearly evidenced by his bursting into tears when he made quite a memorable touchdown catch that sealed a San Francisco playoff victory over Green Bay five or six years ago. Remember that?
T.O. -- Suicide or Accidental Overdose?
posted by Big Primpin' @ 9:37 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I came away with the same impression. The whole story just sounds fishy and it is hard to have a clue what really went on. It doesn't sound like a genuine suicide attempt but it also sounds like an extremely bizarre mix-up.
The only thing I do know is that Kim Etheredge must be the worst publicist ever. First, it is because of her actions that this whole story started (not to say that she shouldn't have called paramedics, but you don't blurt out that your client might be committing suicide when your entire job is protecting his image). Second, the way she handled that press conference was terrible and the "twenty five million reasons" comment was completely without tact.
Good point on Etheredge's job being to protect T.O's image. I didn't think about that. And I'm a little curious why she was at his crib in the first place.
I'm actually pleasantly surprised that the media started to leave this story alone as early as it did. For a habitually overreactive bunch drooling for the next big juicy T.O. story, I figured reporters would still be turning stories.
And that I've heard on the day of the overdose, T.O. got dumped and was told by his fiance he couldn't attend his son's birthday party she was throwing, that's practically your smoking gun right there.
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