The DL on TO

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September 28, 2006

So, Terrell Owens tried to kill himself. He was depressed and took an overdose of painkiller pills. His friend/publicist called 911, and as she made the call, he was trying to stuff more pills down his soon-to-be expiring throat. "This doesn't surprise me at all," said one "commentator" from the Ever-Self-Promoting-Network. "I've been saying for years that TO needs psychological help." Then, in the next breath, the same "commentator" said, "but it wouldn't surprise me if he did it for publicity." As the show went on, we also found out that TO helped plan the assassinations of Lincoln, the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, and was the mastermind of the bombing of the USS Cole. The "reporters" then intimated that if TO didn't get help, he might actually be the person to bring forth Armageddon. Forget Osama Bin Laden, President Bush – Terrell Owens should be the number one target of the United States government.

Now, the accurate story.

Jones hired a lighting rod for controversy signing TO.

Owens had been working out at Cowboys' camp, doing everything he could to have his surgically repaired hand ready for this Sunday's game against Tennessee. He was in a lot of pain when he arrived home, and took a couple of pain pills. He was resting, but the pain was still bad. While he was taking his daily dose of natural supplements, he took a few more painkillers. And then added the pain pills to the drawer with his supplements. His friend/publicist noticed that the Vicodin bottle was empty, and that Owens was unresponsive when she asked him questions. So, she called 911, paramedics took TO to the hospital, and he was released when it was determined that he didn't try to commit suicide. How do I know that's the true story? Well, first of all, it's the story that Owens told, and if there's one thing you can be certain of, Owens isn't afraid of the truth. Second, if a hospital or police department determines that a person has attempted suicide, the patient is held for observation, not released in 13 hours to go catch passes from Drew Bledsoe and Tony Romo. And I also know it's true because someone who knows TO very well backs it up.

"I talked with Terrell Tuesday afternoon," said Kirk Reynolds, a former 49ers public relations director and friend of TO's, who was at the Dallas airport on his way back from the New Orleans–Atlanta game Monday night. "In fact, I called him while he was working out, trying to get his hand ready. He told me it was hurting, but he really wanted to play Sunday, so he was busting his ass."

"Did he sound depressed, or like the Owens you've known in the past?" I ask him.

"He was fine. He wasn't down at all. When I told him I'd let him go so he could keep working out, he said thanks for calling and wished me a safe flight. He was TO."

And when Reynolds heard the media reports about the alleged suicide attempt?

"I knew right away that it was bull****. The way some of the media covered the story was absolutely disgraceful. Instead of waiting for Terrell to give his side of the story, they had to spin it the way they wanted it to come out," Reynolds said. "All these guys (who've never even talked to him) are telling the world that he's crazy and he probably did it. I got so sick of watching the coverage..."

Reynolds text-messaged Owens Wednesday, and TO replied that he was fine and that everything was okay – which he later reiterated at the news conference. "He's just not the type of guy who would kill himself," Reynolds said. "No way. Never."

So, you can either believe the talking heads, most of whom have never even met Owens, or you can believe TO, his friend/publicist, and a friend who knows him as well as anyone.

On a personal note, I'm sometimes reluctant to call myself a member of the sports media. There are so many "commentators" and "reporters" on radio, TV and who write for newspapers, who shouldn't be anywhere near a journalistic situation. Many of these people are more concerned with giving outlandish – and ridiculous – opinions, rather than presenting an accurate story or a well-thought-out opinion. It permeates the industry today, and it probably leaves the average consumer of media wondering whom they can trust for the real deal.

I'm a talk show host, and I know how important it is to be entertaining. If you're not – no matter how much knowledge or credibility you have – the audience goes elsewhere. But when networks and newspapers that claim to report on the news allow opinions to dominate their coverage, it makes what they do less credible. And less important. And sometimes impossible to believe.

Or tolerate.