Based on his pass-catching numbers during his prolific 15-year NFL career, Terrell Owens should have made the Pro Football Hall of Fame three years ago, in his first year of eligibility.
He is second all-time in career receiving yards (15,934), third in touchdown catches (153) and eighth in receptions (1,078).
Yet, despite being a finalist in 2016 and 2017, he failed both years to even survive the initial 15-to-10 reduction vote by the 48 selectors.
The reason had little to do with his career performance level and everything to do with his disruptive behavior.
The Hall of Fame gave the selectors an opening to snub Owens when it pointed out prior to the 2016 vote that, while we weren’t allowed to consider character or off-the-field behavior in judging a player’s Hall of Fame worthiness, we could consider his behavior on the field and in the locker room.