Terrell Owens: Life in Hell

One of the greatest receivers in the history of football just spent the year playing in the arena league for $250 a game – and then he got fired.  The fall from grace that Terrell Owens has undergone – largely in the public eye – is without question one of the most dramatic ever for a marquee athlete.  Broke, unemployed and borderline suicidal, T.O. gets a profile by Michael Mooney in Grantland that must be read to be believed.

Yes, he brought this all on himself, but yes, he also deserves a little empathy…

Since signing with the Allen Wranglers, Terrell Owens hasn’t exactly been excited to talk to reporters. Back in his Philadelphia days, in the prime of his career, he used to hold press conferences all the time, sometimes in his own driveway. He couldn’t wait to be on camera. He would tell reporters what questions to ask. He never shied away from a microphone: not in a locker room, not in a studio, and certainly not on his own reality show.

But now that he’s been relegated to the lowest rung of professional football, with no team in the NFL even interested in watching him work out, Owens hasn’t been so loquacious. He made an appearance on Dr. Phil with three of the four mothers of his kids to explain why he hasn’t been paying child support (he’s broke), and why he hasn’t even seen some of his children (it’s complicated). And he’s done a few brief radio interviews. But he hasn’t wanted to talk much about playing in the Indoor Football League. He hasn’t wanted to talk about his financial troubles, or his personal life, or what it’s like to fall so far so fast. He’s pushed back interviews. He’s skipped press conferences. He’s missed scheduled appearances.

But now, on an indoor soccer field in the suburbs of Dallas, on a Thursday afternoon after practice, he’s unloading…

Keep Reading:

Terrell Owens’s Darkest Days (Grantland)