ESPN’s Jim Trotter who is a well-respected voice in media and long time NFL reporter spoke on Richard Deitsch’s podcast (transcribed by Pro Football Talk) about the conversations that were had about Terrell Owens during the Hall of Fame voting process.
Here is how he felt about the process.
“I voted for him. I will vote for him again,” Trotter said of Owens. “But I’ll say this: In my 11 years on the Committee I will say that that’s the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been in a room, listening to the debate on Terrell Owens. And I went to one of the Hall officials during a break and I told him that. I said, ‘I’ve never felt this uncomfortable about a guy being debated in this room.’ Because it did. It felt personal to me. It may not have been — I’m not saying it was personal — I’m saying it felt personal to me, and that was very disturbing to me. Will he get in? I believe he will get in at some point. But that’s what’s so ridiculous to me, to be frank, Richard, because don’t tell me that you’re going to make him wait two, three years, five years, whatever it is, simply because you felt he was a bad teammate, but he’ll get in, you’ll vote for him at some point. If you’re not willing to vote for him now you shouldn’t be willing to vote for him in five years. He should be judged simply on his merits, in my opinion, and I’m not one of those people who believe in sending messages.”
I definitely don’t want to put words in his mouth, but Trotter is one of the few black Hall of Fame voters, so when he says he was uncomfortable, one has to wonder if the tone by some of the white hall of fame voters is what was disturbing to him.
It isn’t a secret that there is a certain disdain for Terrell Owens that goes far beyond what happened on the field. Outspoken Black Men are always trying to be oppressed and put down by weak-minded, jealous and inferior white men.
Was T.O. perfect throughout his career in the NFL, no he wasn’t, but he also wasn’t sending dick pics to team employees, doing coke before practice or sucker punching teammates.
Hall of Famer voters, the ones who have the balls to speak out want him to beg and roll over for them because of their inferiority complex towards black men.
That would make me uncomfortable if I was in the room as well.