Terrell Owens...Attempted Suicide???

[MikeVick7]

This from the Channel 8 (ABC) website here in Dallas...

No link to the story yet...it's just at the top of the front page. http://www.wfaa.com/

According to a Dallas Police report obtained by news 8, Dallas Cowboys star receiver Terrell Owens attempted suicide Tuesday night. The report also says that Owens was depressed and reportedly took prescription pain pills. A woman companion observed him putting two pills in his mouth. The woman says the prescription of 40 pills was filled on September 18th and until yesterday he'd taken only five pills. According to the police report, Owens was asked if he'd taken the rest of the prescription. Owens said yes. According to the report, police also asked if he was trying to harm himself. Owens answered yes. Terrell Owens was treated at Baylor University Medical Center.

[Ramzavail]

wow

[MikeVick7]

They have a story linked now...

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa060927_wz_owens.1fd220c5.html

[Northwood_DK]

They have it on Mike&Mike now.

[wade moore]

When I first saw this story (the original "rushed to hospital" story) things seemed weird...

If this is indeed true, even for as much dislike as I've had for the public personae that is Terrell Owens, I truely hope that he works through whatever demons he has - despite the spectacles he's put on, he has never done anything truely "evil" in the grand scheme of things and he doesn't deserve to feel like he needs to take his own life...

[gottimd]

So I guess the injury report will say: Terrell Owens Out Severe Depression Return Unknown.

Was it an attempt to committ suicide or an overdose on pain med's? And media is making into a suicide attempt?

[spleen1015]

So I guess the injury report will say: Terrell Owens Out Severe Depression Return Unknown.

Was it an attempt to committ suicide or an overdose on pain med's? And media is making into a suicide attempt?

They are saying that he told the police he was attempting to harm himself.

[Barkeep49]

I never thought TO's self destructive behavior would manifest itself in this way. I sincerely hope that report not to be correct, but if it is correct, I hope TO gets the mental health help he so clearly needs.

[albionmoonlight]

In my total ignorant opinion, if this is true, then he is addicted to attention to the point where he is willing to put his life at risk in order to receive it.

For his sake, I hope that it was just a reaction to some medicine and not an suicide-attempt overdose.

[ThunderingHERD]

I always felt sorry for him, even when everyone else hated him. From the more in-depth features I saw on him, dating back to the San Francisco days, it just seemed to me that he was deeply troubled and that his brash persona was just a defense mechanism.

[Barkeep49]

In my total ignorant opinion, if this is true, then he is addicted to attention to the point where he is willing to put his life at risk in order to receive it.

For his sake, I hope that it was just a reaction to some medicine and not an suicide-attempt overdose.
I think this is a seriously incorrect view of what leads people to suicide.

[wade moore]

I think this is a seriously incorrect view of what leads people to suicide.

I think it is a pretty accurate view of what brings many people to suicide...

And with TO, that could be the case.. .and if it is, I still say I hope he gets the help he needs if that is the issue.

[RedKingGold]

If it is true, it would definitely give evidence to the idea that TO is bipolar.

[RedKingGold]

I think it is a pretty accurate view of what brings many people to suicide...

And with TO, that could be the case.. .and if it is, I still say I hope he gets the help he needs if that is the issue.

But a rational person would likely put self-perservation over the need for attention.

It is more likely that he is "sick in the head" and perceived that no one either a) cares about him, or b) severely dislikes him.

I doubt that this should be considered a "publicity stunt" if it is true.

[MikeVic]

When I heard this on the radio this morning, I thought it was some joke they were playing... seems unreal. Hopefully he does get mental health.

[MIJB#19]

I think this is a seriously incorrect view of what leads people to suicide.Yeah, it makes a lot more sense that he did it to get out of the attention, rather than to get (back) into it. If he really went over the line of thinking about suicide and actually tried it, that means he's got to be severly depressed. If so, I honestly can't imagine it's something he picked up very recently, this must have been going around much longer and just came down to a big climax.

[cartman]

Word on the street is that TO and Parcells got into an argument on Monday or Tuesday, when Tuna told TO not to plan on playing next week in Philly, because the rest of the season was more important than one game.

[albionmoonlight]

I think this is a seriously incorrect view of what leads people to suicide.

Like I said, I am ignorant. I shouldn't have posted that, actually. There are, I am sure, people on this board who know someone who has attempted suicide. And I don't even want to give the hint of saying anything about why those people did what they did.

I guess it was just sad that my first thought upon reading this was, "You got people talking about you again, Terrell."

Still, I apologize. I should not have posted my uninformed thoughts about TO. And I really should not have done it in such a manner that even gave the hint that I was making a comment about suicide attempts more broadly.

[wade moore]

Like I said, I am ignorant. I shouldn't have posted that, actually. There are, I am sure, people on this board who know someone who has attempted suicide. And I don't even want to give the hint of saying anything about why those people did what they did.

I guess it was just sad that my first thought upon reading this was, "You got people talking about you again, Terrell."

Still, I apologize. I should not have posted my uninformed thoughts about TO. And I really should not have done it in such a manner that even gave the hint that I was making a comment about suicide attempts more broadly.

I don't think you were out of line.

EF27 hopefully will jump in here, but my common understanding from the various stuff I learned in college, etc. is that suicides that were more "cry for help" than "trying to kill myself" are definately common. Maybe not the majority, but definately common. I find it strange personally that anyone would claim that it isn't the case.

Maybe he didn't do it literally as a "publicity stunt", but as a cry for attention I think is very plausible.

[John Galt]

It is a crazy story, but TO has always struck me as someone who is very depressed. He often seems to be compensating publicly for something private and he seems very sensitive and dependent upon other peoples' opinions of him. He has also been reported as an off-the-field recluse who doesn't go out and doesn't have many friends. I'm sad for him that it reached this point. Depression is a tough thing to face and I would say even moreso for someone in such a high-profile position with lots of pressure and attention on them on a daily basis.

[molson]

By all accounts, his behavior has changed dramatically since early in his career. I've heard a lot of speculation over the years that he was "troubled". Some people around him picked up the warning signs, most just wrote it off to him being a jerk. I feel sorry for him.

[RedKingGold]

Maybe he didn't do it literally as a "publicity stunt", but as a cry for attention I think is very plausible.

I think I can agree with that.

[ISiddiqui]

Well, it seems that TO has some pretty major problems. Perhaps his prior antics in his career was due to some underlying depression or insecurity, which manifested itself in an suicide attempt. I've always thought it was something more than simply a 'look at me' thing because of the way he speaks in interviews (far less brash).

[Oilers9911]

Agreed. There is certainly a big difference between a publicity stunt and a cry for help. Both are ways of seeking attention but it is obvious that either way T.O. is mentally ill and needs serious help. Even before this incident it was obvious that the man had something wrong with him.

[RedKingGold]

Maybe he didn't do it literally as a "publicity stunt", but as a cry for attention I think is very plausible.

I think I can agree with that. I always thought that suicide victims were trying to ask for help by their actions, and there intent was to seek that help by gaining people's attention.

[Anthony]

Maybe he didn't do it literally as a "publicity stunt", but as a cry for attention I think is very plausible.

he is a pro athlete in the public eye, he needs only to drop a pen for it to be a front page story - i really don't think this was a cry for attention. this is what happens when you get too many people watching Dr Phil, everyone is a psychologist.

[RedKingGold]

I think HA is the king when it comes to wanting underserved attention.

:rolleyes:

[Anthony]

personally, for the last several years i've thought TO has been an in the closet homosexual. i obviously don't have any concrete proof, but just in reading between the lines. not to say he tried to commit suicide because he's gay, but sharing my opinion on him to provide a look at some of the demons he might be facing.

personally, TO is my favorite player in the NFL, and have been since the Dallas centerfield-star touchdown game and especially since he caught the game winning td in a playoff game against the Packers as a 49er.

[wade moore]

he is a pro athlete in the public eye, he needs only to drop a pen for it to be a front page story - i really don't think this was a cry for attention. this is what happens when you get too many people watching Dr Phil, everyone is a psychologist.

That or studying about people and their behaviors in college courses. You know, whatever.

[SunDevil]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/nfl/09/27/owens.report/index.html?cnn=yes


DALLAS (AP) -- Flamboyant Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens tried to kill himself by overdosing on pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened, according to a police report.

The police report said Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the report were first released by WFAA-TV on Wednesday.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that (his) prescription pain medication was empty and observed (Owens) putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

The friend attempted to pry them out with her fingers, then was told by Owens that before this incident he'd taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied. Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time (he) stated, 'Yes."'

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens is recovering from a broken right hand he hurt a week ago Sunday. He had an operation the next day to have a plate screwed in, enabling the bone to heal without being further injured. Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

The Cowboys were off this past weekend and Owens was back at practice Tuesday, although he worked out on his own. Parcells said Owens' hand was improving and he was expected back on the practice field Wednesday. Owens chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room Tuesday afternoon and seemed fine.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

Dallas police officials said they were planning a news conference later Wednesday, but did not immediately release a time. A hospital spokeswoman said early Wednesday there was no patient registered as Terrell Owens, although federal privacy laws allow people to block their name from being released.

Owens' publicist and agent, and the Cowboys, did not return repeated calls from The Associated Press. No teammates or Cowboys officials were seen entering the hospital late Tuesday night.

[Anthony]

That or studying about people and their behaviors in college courses. You know, whatever.

ahhhh, the "i had a couple psychology classes in college so thus i am qualified to diagnose people" stmt.

[Toddzilla]

I honestly hope that Terrell can eventually come to grips with whatever his issues really are, but for fucks sake, will this asshole do *anything* for attention?

[wade moore]

ahhhh, the "i had a couple psychology classes in college so thus i am qualified to diagnose people" stmt.

No, the I got a major in Sociology statement.

Either way, I never said that it IS the case with him, I said it's quite plausible. You are the one declaring a fact about him, not me.

[cartman]

ahhhh, the "i had a couple psychology classes in college so thus i am qualified to diagnose people" stmt.

ah, the old "I got called out on my statement, so let me find something else to try and make myself look better" bit

[JeeberD]

What a little fucking pussy...

[wade moore]

ah, the old "I got called out on my statement, so let me find something else to try and make myself look better" bit

i heart cartman

[cthomer5000]

this is what happens when you get too many people watching Dr Phil, everyone is a psychologist.

a couple of posts later...


personally, for the last several years i've thought TO has been an in the closet homosexual. i obviously don't have any concrete proof, but just in reading between the lines. not to say he tried to commit suicide because he's gay, but sharing my opinion on him to provide a look at some of the demons he might be facing.

[cthomer5000]

I think what I've learned here is that H.A. is a homosexual in love with T.O.

[st.cronin]

I honestly hope that Terrell can eventually come to grips with whatever his issues really are, but for fucks sake, will this asshole do *anything* for attention?

Are you talking about TO or HA?

[rkmsuf]

I think what I've learned here is that H.A. is a homosexual in love with T.O.

lol

[Joe Canadian]

ahhhh, the "i had a couple psychology classes in college so thus i am qualified to diagnose people" stmt.

Do you have a degree in Gaydar?

[RedKingGold]

HA = JSHIPMAN = CLOWN2 = TO ????

[rkmsuf]

this thread is going places

people are on their game today....top notch, top notch!

[Joe Canadian]

What a little fucking pussy...

Who? Owens?

[panerd]

Death, taxes, and Hell Atlantic whoring for attention in a TO thread.

[Anthony]

No, the I got a major in Sociology statement.

Either way, I never said that it IS the case with him, I said it's quite plausible. You are the one declaring a fact about him, not me.


only fact i declared was that he's my favorite player in the NFL. all else was clearly listed as opinion, unless you don't know what "i don't have any concrete proof" means.

overdramatic teens in the midwest cry for help/attention. they do that by going to school with firearms and harming themselves and other children. they do that by mutilating themselves. being destructive. superstar athletes, with access to the finest healthcare in life and surrounded by tons of top of the line medical staffs plus people whose job is only to ensure all their needs are taken cared of do not cry out for help. unless you think Maurice Clarett was trying to cry out by being a boneheaded asshole.

you need only to read SkyDog's sig to find the reason why TO did what he did. and the reason is we won't ever know cuz we don't live in the world of multi-millions and hangers on and hookers and drugs and bright lights and whatnot. we just don't understand. to say the reason why someone would cause a media circus to get out of Philadelphia is the same reason why he'd try to overdose on medication - cuz he's been "crying for help all along" is poppycock.

[JeeberD]

Who? Owens?

Yup.

Isn't there an old saying that goes something like, "People who try to kill themself with pills are only doing it for attention...there are much more efficient ways to end one's life"?

[Joe Canadian]

overdramatic teens in the midwest cry for help/attention. they do that by going to school with firearms and harming themselves and other children. they do that by mutilating themselves. being destructive. superstar athletes, with access to the finest healthcare in life and surrounded by tons of top of the line medical staffs plus people whose job is only to ensure all their needs are taken cared of do not cry out for help.

I get that this is your opinion... but is your opinion based on any type of evidence? Or are you just pulling this out of your ass?

[Ksyrup]

Does this mean TO no longer loves him some him?

[TroyF]

I find it more than a little amusing that HA criticizes others for their diagnosis of the situation and then goes on to make a diagnosis on his own that is far more in depth and makes far more assumptions than anyone else had tried to explain.

And then AFTER he makes it, he still criticizes them. Very impressive.

Suicides can be a cry for help. They can be all sorts of things. I've taken a ton of psychology classes and studied this for reasons nobody here needs to know. Suicide attempts can happen for a myriad of reasons, and attention IS one of those reasons. The one line I found most insteresting from this thread was this one:

But a rational person would likely put self-perservation over the need for attention.

A RATIONAL person put 99.9% of all things in life behind self preservation. The person who attempts/commits suicide is not rational in anyway. It doesn't mean this is a publicity stunt, but to try to discount things because you can't see how a rational person would do that is starting from a faulty premice.

[Anthony]

a couple of posts later...

Yup.

Isn't there an old saying that goes something like, "People who try to kill themself with pills are only doing it for attention...there are much more efficient ways to end one's life"?

girls mostly are the ones who try to kill themselves w/ pills.


just reading between the lines. you heard it here first. i don't care if he's gay or assexual or whatever, he's entertaining.

[wade moore]

overdramatic teens in the midwest cry for help/attention. they do that by going to school with firearms and harming themselves and other children. they do that by mutilating themselves. being destructive. superstar athletes, with access to the finest healthcare in life and surrounded by tons of top of the line medical staffs plus people whose job is only to ensure all their needs are taken cared of do not cry out for help.

You are very naive in the way that the human mind works.

[cartman]

Isn't there an old saying that goes something like, "People who try to kill themself with pills are only doing it for attention...there are much more efficient ways to end one's life"?

Yep, especially when, according to the police report from TSG (hxxp://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0927061owens1.html) states that one of the officers that arrived said he saw TO put 2 more pills into his mouth after he arrived. If you were gonna take the pills with the intention of taking your own life, you'd take them all at once in a place where no one could find you, not save a couple to take in front of the police for dramatic effect.

[wade moore]

girls mostly are the ones who try to kill themselves w/ pills.

Seriously, learn what you're talking about before you spew crap and try to "call people out" for what they say when they have background knowledge.

[RedKingGold]

But a rational person would likely put self-perservation over the need for attention.

A RATIONAL person put 99.9% of all things in life behind self preservation. The person who attempts/commits suicide is not rational in anyway. It doesn't mean this is a publicity stunt, but to try to discount things because you can't see how a rational person would do that is starting from a faulty premice.

The idea of "likely would put" was meant as a hint of sarcasm. The point of the statement was to prove that I think that TO is not a rational person.

[JeeberD]

Yep, especially when, according to the police report from TSG (hxxp://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0927061owens1.html) states that one of the officers that arrived said he saw TO put 2 more pills into his mouth after he arrived. If you were gonna take the pills with the intention of taking your own life, you'd take them all at once in a place where no one could find you, not save a couple to take in front of the police for dramatic effect.

Exactly what I was going to point out...who the fuck tries to kill themself by taking pills in front of people?

What a fucking drama queen...

[Joe Canadian]

Yup.

Isn't there an old saying that goes something like, "People who try to kill themself with pills are only doing it for attention...there are much more efficient ways to end one's life"?

I'm not going to get into a debate on this and this is nothing personal towards you... but when people say this sort of thing about people who attempt suicide, they show a lack of understanding of what severe depression can do to someone. If this was a cry for help and not a legitimate suicide attempt... then there is clearly something wrong with Owens, and one can only hope that those around him help him resolve his problems and seek medical attention.

I'm not condoning nor am I supporting what Owens apparently did, I'm just saying that saying he's an idiot, IMO, is underestimating the power depresion can hold over someone.

[JeeberD]

Dola-

Damn...TSG works FAST!

[st.cronin]

I'm not going to get into a debate on this and this is nothing personal towards you... but when people say this sort of thing about people who attempt suicide, they show a lack of understanding of what severe depression can do to someone. If this was a cry for help and not a legitimate suicide attempt... then there is clearly something wrong with Owens, and one can only hope that those around him help him resolve his problems and seek medical attention.

I'm not condoning nor am I supporting what Owens apparently did, I'm just saying that saying he's an idiot, IMO, is underestimating the power depresion can hold over someone.

The bolded part has been obvious for a very long time.

[scooper]

Sometimes, people who take pills as a suicide attempt ARE doing it for attention. But sometimes those people actually die. That's quite a risk to take for some attention. It's certainly far above and beyond dancing on a star.

This is much deeper and darker than "look at me."

[Oilers9911]

Exactly what I was going to point out...who the fuck tries to kill themself by taking pills in front of people?

What a fucking drama queen...

What an incredibly simplistic view. If someone is going to actually go to these lengths do you really think this is just being a drama queen? There has to be something wrong with the guy to even try this at all. If he DID take an overdose, even if he knew he was going to be found, that is still putting your life at risk. There is more to this than drama queen antics. Until we know more have a fucking heart and give the benefit of the doubt.

[Coop]

*insert Seinfeld pic*

What's the deal with failed suicide attempts? You're telling me these people dont have any tall buildings to jump off.

anyway, it's going to be fun listening to espn talk about these for weeks and weeks to come.

[miami_fan]

What an incredibly simplistic view. If someone is going to actually go to these lengths do you really think this is just being a drama queen? There has to be something wrong with the guy to even try this at all. If he DID take an overdose, even if he knew he was going to be found, that is still putting your life at risk. There is more to this than drama queen antics. Until we know more have a fucking heart and give the benefit of the doubt.

Let's be real here. This is TO we are talking about. On the list of the most hated people in sports, TO ranks just below Barry Bonds. Right or wrong, TO will not get the benefit of the doubt, nor will he get any sympathy. He has cause way too much emotional distress to too many people in the general public.

[cuervo72]

personally, for the last several years i've thought TO has been an in the closet homosexual. i obviously don't have any concrete proof, but just in reading between the lines. not to say he tried to commit suicide because he's gay, but sharing my opinion on him to provide a look at some of the demons he might be facing.

Jump on HA all you want for how he expresses his opinions, but I'd be lying if I were to say this possibility hadn't crossed my mind.

[Toddzilla]

I think we can all agree that at the very least TO will hopefully be suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

[st.cronin]

I think we can all agree that at the very least TO will hopefully be suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

I would be shocked if he ever played football again.

[wade moore]

I would be shocked if he ever played football again.

What in the world makes you make that assertion?

[wade moore]

What in the world makes you make that assertion?

If I missed sarcasm, sorry, it's the interweb...

[RedKingGold]

Jump on HA all you want.

No thanks. His sexiness is too much for me.

[JeeberD]

What an incredibly simplistic view. If someone is going to actually go to these lengths do you really think this is just being a drama queen? There has to be something wrong with the guy to even try this at all. If he DID take an overdose, even if he knew he was going to be found, that is still putting your life at risk. There is more to this than drama queen antics. Until we know more have a fucking heart and give the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not saying that TO isn't fucked in the head (that much is very obvious), I'm just trying to say that I don't think he was really trying to kill himself.

[st.cronin]

What in the world makes you make that assertion?

If you had an NFL team, would you sign him? If you were a coach, would you want him around?

[wade moore]

If you had an NFL team, would you sign him? If you were a coach, would you want him around?

Screw all of that, I have no doubt he plays for the COWBOYS again...

This incident is VERY different than his previous offenses. This is not the kind of offense that gets you removed or blackballed from a team. This is the kind of offense that gets you a standing ovation when you return, even if you were a bad guy.

[Abe Sargent]

I don't think you were out of line.

EF27 hopefully will jump in here, but my common understanding from the various stuff I learned in college, etc. is that suicides that were more "cry for help" than "trying to kill myself" are definately common. Maybe not the majority, but definately common. I find it strange personally that anyone would claim that it isn't the case.

Maybe he didn't do it literally as a "publicity stunt", but as a cry for attention I think is very plausible.

As someone who works with numerous college age suicide attempts, this is, in fact, the overwhelming majority of suicide attempts, at least at college age.

[st.cronin]

Screw all of that, I have no doubt he plays for the COWBOYS again...

This incident is VERY different than his previous offenses. This is not the kind of offense that gets you removed or blackballed from a team. This is the kind of offense that gets you a standing ovation when you return, even if you were a bad guy.

Well, yes, but the reason it gets a standing ovation is because it is unlikely that you DO return.

[Draft Dodger]

You are very naive in the way that the human mind works.

you didn't know this before today?

[JeeberD]

This is the kind of offense that gets you a standing ovation when you return, even if you were a bad guy.

I sure as hell hope not. Maybe if he had been in some sort of on or off the field accident. But trying to take your own life? Not ovation worthy...

[Toddzilla]

I'm not saying that TO isn't fucked in the head (that much is very obvious), I'm just trying to say that I don't think he was really trying to kill himself.Agree 100%. He could find a tall building in Dallas? A gun? Someone with a gun? His condo doesn't have a garage? If TO wanted to be dead, he'd be dead...

...and when he wants to be the lead story, he's the lead story.

[wade moore]

I sure as hell hope not. Maybe if he had been in some sort of on or off the field accident. But trying to take your own life? Not ovation worthy...

Wow.

Few things that people say on message boards has had me change my opinion about someone as much as this post here.

[Ben E Lou]

Yes, a suicide attempt is very often a cry for help/attention.

I'm fairly certain that HA is correct on his "girl" comment. I haven't seen a study lately, but I recall reading several that women are far more likely to make a "non-violent" suicide attempt, such as taking pills.

[JeeberD]

Sorry, wade, but that's how I feel. Of course, it may be because I already have an intense hatred for TO. If it had been Emmitt Smith, probably my favorite Cowboy ever, I might not feel this way. I can't be sure because it never happened...

[st.cronin]

Just to clarify, if it were somebody other than TO, I would think it far more likely that they could come back. I just think that in the case of TO, there are very few people in the NFL that would be interested in giving him another chance. He's already burned a lot of bridges.

[bosshogg23]

I think we can all agree that at the very least TO will hopefully be suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

I dont think he can be suspended. Two infractions result in a 4 game suspension. Unless he has had a previous violation we(me) are not aware of.

[wade moore]

Sorry, wade, but that's how I feel. Of course, it may be because I already have an intense hatred for TO. If it had been Emmitt Smith, probably my favorite Cowboy ever, I might not feel this way. I can't be sure because it never happened...

To have no sympathy for a person who is so emotionally distraught that they would try to take their own life is completely foreign to me.

[wade moore]

Just to clarify, if it were somebody other than TO, I would think it far more likely that they could come back. I just think that in the case of TO, there are very few people in the NFL that would be interested in giving him another chance. He's already burned a lot of bridges.

I have to totally disagree here. I think TO's chances of playing are no less than they would have been on Monday morning. In fact, possibly greater... because if this results in treatment for whatever his issue is, it could make people more likely to give him a shot.

[wade moore]

Yes, a suicide attempt is very often a cry for help/attention.

I'm fairly certain that HA is correct on his "girl" comment. I haven't seen a study lately, but I recall reading several that women are far more likely to make a "non-violent" suicide attempt, such as taking pills.

That may be true, but to brush off the idea of TO doing this because "he's not a girl' or that somehow him doing this affirms some sort of homosexual tendencies is just silly...

[JeeberD]

To have no sympathy for a person who is so emotionally distraught that they would try to take their own life is completely foreign to me.

But like I've said several times, I don't think he was actually trying to kill himself.

[John Galt]

To have no sympathy for a person who is so emotionally distraught that they would try to take their own life is completely foreign to me.

"

[st.cronin]

I have to totally disagree here. I think TO's chances of playing are no less than they would have been on Monday morning. In fact, possibly greater... because if this results in treatment for whatever his issue is, it could make people more likely to give him a shot.

*shrug* You might be right. I hope he gets better, and it would be a good story if he came back. His Super Bowl performance remains one of the greatest individual performances I've ever seen. I have a great deal of sympathy for him.

[Oilers9911]

I'm not saying that TO isn't fucked in the head (that much is very obvious), I'm just trying to say that I don't think he was really trying to kill himself.

Ok well we can agree on that.

[Ben E Lou]

girls mostly are the ones who try to kill themselves w/ pills.


just reading between the lines. you heard it here first. i don't care if he's gay or assexual or whatever, he's entertaining.

Seriously, learn what you're talking about before you spew crap and try to "call people out" for what they say when they have background knowledge.

I must have misinterpreted your comment to HA, then. I thought you meant he was misinformed regarding his comments about girls trying to kill themselves with pills.

[panerd]

But like I've said several times, I don't think he was actually trying to kill himself.


I agree with you 100% and don't understand all the grief you are getting. Suicide is such a cowardly choice that I can't feel bad for people driven to do it.

And three points I need to clarify...

1. I am not religous at all, so this is from a completly non-religious standpoint.

2. Don't give me the I should feel bad for the mentally unstable. You guys will jump all over pedophiles, murderers, etc and I am pretty sure they are mentally unstable also. (and yes successful suicide attempts do effect other people, not just the person trying to kill themselves)

3. T.O. is an attention whore. Why have we lost this in this discussion.

[wade moore]

I must have misinterpreted your comment to HA, then. I thought you meant he was misinformed regarding his comments about girls trying to kill themselves with pills.

At the time, i probably was. I think he is right statistically, but I knew he wasn't coming with any factual basis behind his claim just because I know HA.

It was more anger at his general line of statements that were often inaccurate and mostly stupid.

This one statement is probably accurate, but I dont' think because he researched it.

[wade moore]

But like I've said several times, I don't think he was actually trying to kill himself.

If you do what he did, regardless of whatyou hope to happen, you do it knowing there is definately a relatively good chance that you could die.

[Schmidty]

A suicide attempt isn't a joke, even if people think it might just be a cry for help. People that downplay this kind of stuff are either heartless or have never dealt with mental illness in their own life. Some of you have really disappointed me.

[watravaler]

Hopefully he finds the help he needs, and the moral hand-wringers shut the %#$& up.

[Toddzilla]

Wow - sports talk radio is all over the rumors that TO was on the "down-low".

[st.cronin]

Not to get all holy roller on anybody, but there is a saying: There but for the grace of God go I. Meaning, someday I will need the compassion that I show this person.

[Schmidty]

Suicide is such a cowardly choice that I can't feel bad for people driven to do it.

Such a blanket statement is unintelligent. While some suicides may be cowardly (murderers, cheaters, etc.), a vast majority of them are driven by a severe mental illness that compells them to end their life.

[wade moore]

Wow - sports talk radio is all over the rumors that TO was on the "down-low".

Commentators or callers?

[Ben E Lou]

ESPN is reporting that he was released a few minutes ago, and gave the thumbs-up as he was put into the car.

[cartman]

ESPN is reporting that he was released a few minutes ago, and gave the thumbs-up as he was put into the car.

So does that mean he plans to overcome the paralysis and walk again?

:D

[saldana]

i guess my thread about this that i started 7 hours earlier wasnt good enough? :(

[st.cronin]

i guess my thread about this that i started 7 hours earlier wasnt good enough? :(

VOTE SALDANA

[Toddzilla]

Commentators or callers?Excellent point - callers mainly, but the commentators aren't dismissing the idle speculation as it were.

[wade moore]

ESPN is reporting that he was released a few minutes ago, and gave the thumbs-up as he was put into the car.

Cause of Todd's statement, I just turned on the Brian Mitchell Show.. they are saying that his publicist (the woman who supposedly saw him pop pills) is saying it wasn't suicide and that he could practice as early as tomorrow.

No link or anything.

[wade moore]

Excellent point - callers mainly, but the commentators aren't dismissing the idle speculation as it were.

Yeah, I thought it was an important distinction. I would find it pretty unprofessional if the hosts were the ones making the assertion without a lot of fact. But the fact that they're not really argueing against it is definately interesting.

What show are you listening to?

[Toddzilla]

Cause of Todd's statement, I just turned on the Brian Mitchell Show.. they are saying that his publicist (the woman who supposedly saw him pop pills) is saying it wasn't suicide and that he could practice as early as tomorrow.Strange, since that directly contradicts the police report obtained by The Smoking Gun (http://www.thesmokinggun.com).

[wade moore]

Strange, since that directly contradicts the police report obtained by The Smoking Gun (http://www.thesmokinggun.com).

Yeah, I should have emphasized that the publicist "claims"... ;)... I don't necessarily buy it..

But again they reported that the Cowboys say he could practice as early as tomorrow.

[TroyF]

3. T.O. is an attention whore. Why have we lost this in this discussion.

Because this is a someone who needs help. Irregardless of why he did this, he needs help. He isn't a murderer or a pedophile. He's someone who has serious issues (no matter if it was a "faked" attempt or not) and he's obviously going through a lot.

For those of us who have had realatives who have came close to this conclusion, dealt with people who have or have been there ourselves. . . we understand the desperation that TO was feeling when he did this.

Again, the reasons are irrelevant. If he swallowed 35 pills for the sole purpose of getting attention and this is one wild publicity stunt, he has problems. I can only hope this gets him to fix those problems.

I don't like TO. I think he's a punk and I don't care if he ever plays another down of football. But I think he has serious mental health issues and as a fellow human, I have both compassion for those issues and hope that he can solve them.

[Suburban Rhythm]

*insert Seinfeld pic*

What's the deal with failed suicide attempts? You're telling me these people dont have any tall buildings to jump off.

anyway, it's going to be fun listening to espn talk about these for weeks and weeks to come.

I was going to joke about when the TO chat on SportsNation would start but...

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/mailbagESPN?event_id=13028

[wade moore]

Because this is a someone who needs help. Irregardless of why he did this, he needs help. He isn't a murderer or a pedophile. He's someone who has serious issues (no matter if it was a "faked" attempt or not) and he's obviously going through a lot.

For those of us who have had realatives who have came close to this conclusion, dealt with people who have or have been there ourselves. . . we understand the desperation that TO was feeling when he did this.

Again, the reasons are irrelevant. If he swallowed 35 pills for the sole purpose of getting attention and this is one wild publicity stunt, he has problems. I can only hope this gets him to fix those problems.

I don't like TO. I think he's a punk and I don't care if he ever plays another down of football. But I think he has serious mental health issues and as a fellow human, I have both compassion for those issues and hope that he can solve them.

Well put.

[JAG]

Cause of Todd's statement, I just turned on the Brian Mitchell Show.. they are saying that his publicist (the woman who supposedly saw him pop pills) is saying it wasn't suicide and that he could practice as early as tomorrow.

No link or anything.

hxxp://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/15620551.htm


Mystery surrounds T.O. illness
By CLARENCE E. HILL JR.

DALLAS -- Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens was released from Baylor Medical Center a little after 11 a.m. today as questions mounted about whether he tried to commit suicide or simply had a bad reaction to pain medication.

Owens was surrounded by a group of people as he left the hospital and was driven off in a black Escalade.

He gave a quick thumbs-up with his right hand, which required surgery after he broke a bone leading to his right ring finger Sept. 17.

A woman yelled from the vehicle, "He's fine. He's fine."

Earlier Wednesday, Owens' publicist vehemently denied that he intentionally tried to harm himself Tuesday night.

She attributed Owens' statement to officers that he was trying to harm himself to the fact that he was groggy from mixing pain pills with supplements.

Kim Etheridge, Owens' publicist, was described in the report as "a woman companion" who said she observed him putting two pills in his mouth."

Owens appeared to be in good spirits Tuesday and was looking forward to returning to the practice field today. NBC 5's Newy Scruggs told ESPN 103.3 that Owens wants to play Sunday when the Cowboys travel to Tennessee.

The picture could become clearer at 1:30 p.m., when coach Bill Parcells holds his regularly scheduled news conference.

A brief news conference by police did little to clarify the situation.

Lt. Rick Watson, a Dallas police spokesman, said police are conducting no investigation of the events at Owens' home.

He described it as "a medical situation" and said any further information would not come from police. He also indicated that the police report had been released prematurely.

He declined to answer questions or to verify the accuracy of the police report, although he did pass out redacted copies.

"This is a high-profile person," Watson said. "We looked into it and determined that there was not a criminal offense in this incident."

"We would do it the exact same way" no matter who was involved, he said.

Owens was being treated at Baylor University Medical Center.

Etheridge said he "is fine."

According to the police narrative, the woman said the prescription of 40 pills was filled on Sept. 18 and, until Tuesday, Owens had taken only five pills.

The police report said Owens was asked if he had taken the rest of the prescription. Owens said, "Yes."

According to the report, police also asked if he was trying to harm himself. Owens answered, "Yes."

The report also said that the woman said that Owens was depressed.

Etheridge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic.

She said he was in pain stemming from the fractured right hand, suffered against Washington.

He underwent surgery to have a plate and three pins placed in the hand last Monday.

Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said at the time that Owens was having a bad reaction to the pain medication.

Etheridge said Owens experienced more pain and discomfort Tuesday.

He took some pain pills and did some "microcurrent" treatment.

She said he also took some supplements and "it kicked in a reaction."

"When I went to grab him, he was out of it," Etheridge said. "That's why I called 911."

Etheridge said Owens did not have his stomach pumped at the hospital and did not vomit.

I don't know what story to buy myself, so I'm not jumping to a conclusion. If it was a suicide attempt, I wish him the best in dealing with whatever brought it on.

[Ben E Lou]

790 The Zone in Atlanta is now reporting that T.O. is going to address the media in 10 minutes or so.

[Kodos]

I don't like TO, but I hope he will be okay.

[Brillig]

Welp, it sounds like the healthiest part of TO is his sense of denial. It's too bad that mental illness is still so stigmatized (People's Exhibit A: This thread) that he's unlikely to seek the help that he needs.

Maybe he'll prove me wrong in his press conference, but it seems more likely that he's just going to motor along until he hits the next wall.

[wade moore]

790 The Zone in Atlanta is now reporting that T.O. is going to address the media in 10 minutes or so.

Ditto on the B-Mitch show.

[Butter]

Could it just be that TO was so out of it when the cops were asking him questions that he just said yes to anything, or misheard what they were asking?

Even if that's not the case, I bet that's what he says here in a few minutes.

[John Galt]

Welp, it sounds like the healthiest part of TO is his sense of denial. It's too bad that mental illness is still so stigmatized (People's Exhibit A: This thread) that he's unlikely to seek the help that he needs.

Maybe he'll prove me wrong in his press conference, but it seems more likely that he's just going to motor along until he hits the next wall.

That is my fear as well. I think this post and TroyF's last one pretty much summarize how I feel about the whole thing.

[Toddzilla]

Anyone want to bet that he completely denies that he tried to hurt himslef?

[wade moore]

That is my fear as well. I think this post and TroyF's last one pretty much summarize how I feel about the whole thing.

Yup yup yup.

Was just saying to SD in IM that my concern is that if he WAS attempting suicide, or to hurt himself, or whatever that is unfortunate that now his "people" will recommend that he denies it and it continues him avoiding facing his demons, which it seems he may really need to do.

[TroyF]

Welp, it sounds like the healthiest part of TO is his sense of denial. It's too bad that mental illness is still so stigmatized (People's Exhibit A: This thread) that he's unlikely to seek the help that he needs.

Maybe he'll prove me wrong in his press conference, but it seems more likely that he's just going to motor along until he hits the next wall.

Agree 100%. He'd been on that pain medication for over a week. This isn't the medication suddenly acting up and causing him to go loco. Police don't put things like that in their reports for the hell of it.

It sounds like the response to this is going to be full blown denial, which does nothing for TO. The only hope is the behind the scenes, he's getting the help he needs.

[Ben E Lou]

Could it just be that TO was so out of it when the cops were asking him questions that he just said yes to anything, or misheard what they were asking?Former Falcon Chuck Smith is on 790 The Zone at the moment saying his personal experience with painkillers was such that it could well have gone done that way.

[RedKingGold]

I'm in class, so someone has to tell me what he actually said in the press conference (although I pretty much already know what will be said)

[Ben E Lou]

790's resident medical expert (He's a physician, and the brother of one of their radio personalities) is saying that if T.O. truly took 30ish pills, he would not be released by now.

[bosshogg23]

MSNBC is reporting that Deion Sanders is on NFL Network saying he talked to TO a little bit earlier and he totally denied to Sanders that it was a suicide attempt. Still waiting for the press conference though.

[Toddzilla]

Any updates from the radio listeners?

[spleen1015]

There's no way he would be back on the street if he tried to harm himself.

On Dan Patrick they are saying he mixed pain meds with supplements and that caused him to go loopy.

[st.cronin]

There's no way he would be back on the street if he tried to harm himself.

I think this is true. The fact that he was released lends his denial some credence.

[Surtt]

Former Falcon Chuck Smith is on 790 The Zone at the moment saying his personal experience with painkillers was such that it could well have gone done that way.

My initial thought was he was wasted and just agreed with what ever the cop asked.
But that dose not explain why he took 5 pills al week and then 35 all at once.

After all the spin is put on this, it will be a non-event, just a misunderstanding and TO is fine.

[spleen1015]

They're saying TO will have a presser at 3:15 EST from the Cowboys practice facility.

[Radii]

790's resident medical expert (He's a physician, and the brother of one of their radio personalities) is saying that if T.O. truly took 30ish pills, he would not be released by now.

This is my understanding as well, having known two people who had similar suicide attempts and knowing how it was dealt with.

[MikeVick7]

I just heard on The Ticket (1310am here in Dallas) that he's going to address the meda at 2:15 central time.

[MikeVick7]

Ok, now it's changed it to 2:30 central.

[Toddzilla]

Jeez, even when he schedules a presser after a reported suicide attempt, he's got to be a pain-in-the-ass attention whore. :cool:

[EagleFan]

What a loser! The drama queen couldn't even do this right.

[Ryan S]

Wow.

Few things that people say on message boards has had me change my opinion about someone as much as this post here.

Why the hell would you applaud a guy for not succeeding in taking his own life?

[wade moore]

The more I hear and think about this, the idea that this was not a suicide attempt has some credence. The idea that you take 30+ pills and then are out around town the next day ready to practice football doesn't make sense.

It would seem that either medically or psychologically there would be more "observation" or something...

[Izulde]

Regardless of the actual truth of the matter in the TO situation, I think a couple of interesting points are brought out in this particular thread:

1) As people have pointed out, mental illness is still stigmatized in society (though it's gradually getting better)

2) This stigma is particularly powerful in arenas dominated by traditional male gender roles and stereotypes. The idea that suicide attempts make someone "a fucking pussy" and are "things girls do" mean that many of the arguments about the access to better healthcare, etc, go out the window. The access may be there, but the climate of the sphere in which TO or other male sports figures operates prejudices them against reaching out, except in dramatic episodes such as this.

I'm also reminded of the Falcons lineman whose name I can't remember, who had a bipolar-related incident during their Super Bowl run. He was scorned for the incident. Look at Alonzo Spellman's runs-in with the police, also attributed to mental illness. They become objects of ostracization and the subjects of jokes.

[wade moore]

Why the hell would you applaud a guy for not succeeding in taking his own life?

I don't understand your meaning.

[tabucko]

Whether or not it was a suicide attempt, what do you think TO is doing right now?

1. Thanking his God, or the people that saved his life so he can continue his existance in this life or,

2. Watching ESPN and having a great time with all the attention he is getting?

What do you think?

[Toddzilla]

Whether or not it was a suicide attempt, what do you think TO is doing right now?

1. Thanking his God, or the people that saved his life so he can continue his existance in this life or,

2. Watching ESPN and having a great time with all the attention he is getting?

What do you think?poll pls k thx

[Samdari]

If you were gonna take the pills with the intention of taking your own life, you'd take them all at once in a place where no one could find you, not save a couple to take in front of the police for dramatic effect.

But, if you are doing it as a cry for attention, you make sure people see you do it.

As for the release from the hospital meaning anything, don't read too much into it.

You don't need to be released from the hospital to leave. You can get up and go whenever you are good and ready. Stopping you from doing so would be kidnapping.

And even if he was officially released, he claims not to have attempted suicide, he is physically fine, why would they not release him?

[Galaxy]

One thing about TO is he had a screwed up childhood growing up, from what I've read. I wonder if that has had an impact on the way he is, and if he did indeed try to commit suicide.

[jbmagic]

790 The Zone in Atlanta is now reporting that T.O. is going to address the media in 10 minutes or so.

I am sure he is going to deny that he tried to commit suicide to the media.

[BishopMVP]

2) This stigma is particularly powerful in arenas dominated by traditional male gender roles and stereotypes. The idea that suicide attempts make someone "a fucking pussy" and are "things girls do"I'm assuming you're going off the HA comment, and that's not what he's saying there. It was with respect to taking pills - if TO had shot himself in the head, you'd probably have an attention whore or two posting about how that's how a f*cking man commits suicide.

I'll also second the comment about his childhood. I saw some SportsCentury/Beyond the Glory thing on him and it sounds like he was forced into being a recluse growing up. His father lived across the street from TO, and no one told TO until he was 12 years old and hitting on his (unknown to him) half-sister. I always hate when someone uses someone's past to justify their behaviors, but if you saw what TO went through growing up, it explains a lot of things. (Side note: if you can, see Ray Lewis' Beyond the Glory.)

[bosshogg23]

As for the release from the hospital meaning anything, don't read too much into it.

You don't need to be released from the hospital to leave. You can get up and go whenever you are good and ready. Stopping you from doing so would be kidnapping.



The hospital can 302 him(involuntary admission) because he is a risk to himself or others.

[Anthony]

I'm assuming you're going off the HA comment, and that's not what he's saying there. It was with respect to taking pills - if TO had shot himself in the head, you'd probably have an attention whore or two posting about how that's how a f*cking man commits suicide.

correct. statistically speaking, females tend to attempt suicide by taking pills or slashing their wrists, where the effects don't happen right away, rather it takes a while for you to die. once a male decides to take his own life it's usually final - gun shot, jumping in front of a train, etc.

i was tongue in cheekly alluding to my previous opinion (re: TO's sexuality) that he chose a more feminine way to take his life.

[Anthony]

Jump on HA all you want for how he expresses his opinions, but I'd be lying if I were to say this possibility hadn't crossed my mind.


thank you, a voice of reason.


i had a co-worker with contacts in the entertainment/sports industry, and one conversation dealt with sex and pro athletes. in a nutshell he was telling me homosexuality (or same-sex sexual acts) is more rampant than we would think in the sports world. while i don't necessarily agree completely with what he was saying, the gist was that you reach such a level of fame and fortune than its not fun fornicating w/ women anymore. just like if you were to win a lifetime supply of your favorite icecream - eventually you'd get tired of it no matter how much you like it. so what my co-worker was saying was that its not out of the ordinary for athletes to turn to men in these situations, cuz it's more of a challenge (speaking in a nutshell and paraphrasing, again) and its something new.

i would say i agree with 25% of that info.

just saying that in an environment where extreme manliness, toughness and heterosexuality is rampant it might play some tricks in your head having to live that double life. mind you having to lie about your sexuality when showering with the same sex is a daily occurence must be hard. i could be wrong (and i doubt it with each passing year) about TO's sexual preference, but even if we're not talking about TO it could be any number of athletes.

i don't think TO deserves all the negativity he gets - he doesn't commit crimes and is a warrior on the field. there are worse people out there that deserve such negative press. sure, he doesn't make it easy on himself, but there's a reason why you'll remember TOs name 10 years from now and not JJ Stokes.

"All Eyez On Me"
-Tupac

[Toddzilla]

Live on-line feed - starts at 3:15

hxxp://www.tampabays10.com/video/live/breaking/

[cuervo72]

Strange, since that directly contradicts the police report obtained by The Smoking Gun (http://www.thesmokinggun.com).

After reading that, I'm thinking Flasch missed his true calling.

[rkmsuf]

Live on-line feed - starts at 3:15

hxxp://www.tampabays10.com/video/live/breaking/

What are these wankers staring at?

[rkmsuf]

they've been staring at something for 10 minutes now

[Toddzilla]

Waiting for TO to show up I guess

[rkmsuf]

Waiting for TO to show up I guess

They looked like they were watching the Screech video.

[Toddzilla]

And here is the ESPN link:

hxxp://proxy.espn.go.com/broadband/ebb2/asx/dallas_092706.asx

[Toddzilla]

They looked like they were watching the Screech video.I did not notice any reporters with chubbers...I'll have to look again

[rkmsuf]

Primetime in da house!

[TroyF]

HA,

Please. . . Why does TO get criticized? Are you kidding me? He's a scumbag. I hope his mental problems get under control and I have compassion for him as a human being, but the guy has worked extremely hard to earn the hatred people have towards him.

He's an attention whore to the highest degree. He slams his QB's for no reason. I may not like Jeff Garcia as a QB, but calling him gay is something only a pathetic jack ass would do.

[Toddzilla]

I may not like Jeff Garcia as a QB, but calling him gay is something only a pathetic jack ass would do...and now, as it turns out, a carefully orchestrated diversion...

[wade moore]

He's an attention whore to the highest degree. He slams his QB's for no reason. I may not like Jeff Garcia as a QB, but calling him gay is something only a pathetic jack ass would do.

You're a clever one, I see what you're doing here.

Nicely played ;).

[rkmsuf]

Well.....we're waiting.

[Toddzilla]

Big shit eating grin? He is a motherfucking liar.

[Dutch]

Next question!

[Toddzilla]

"..a man of his statue?"

What a fucking assbasket this lady is.

"The police swore? Well, I'm here telling you"

She's a motherfucking liar, too.

[rkmsuf]

Something smells here. I enjoyed her calling the police liars and not being able to remember anything.

I think TO has the perfect publicist. Fits well in the whole schtick.

[JeeberD]

Irvin is sounding like a schmuck on ESPN...

"I know that when I get pills I put them in a different bottle so that I have all my pills in one bottle."

Mmmmmkay.

[kingfc22]

Eh, I don't believe a word that lady said. Basically called the police liars and now she has amnesia.

[jbmagic]

You guys really think he going to say I try to commit suicide in the press conference?

[rkmsuf]

Irvin is sounding like a schmuck on ESPN...

"I know that when I get pills I put them in a different bottle so that I have all my pills in one bottle."

Mmmmmkay.

profound

[JS19]

If I were in the Cowboys position, whether it was a suicide attempt, allerigic reaction, miscommunication, whatever, I wouldnt care if he was on his knees praying to whoever it is he prays to that he wants to change and is gonna dedicate himself to becoming the best teammate from here on out, and then a gunman came inside his home and forced these pills down his throat, I think it's about time to cut your losses here with TO.

[Toddzilla]

How many were expecting TO to pull an R. Budd Dwyer?

[Butter]

"..a man of his statue?"

That's right, it's a sculpture of limitations.

[Joe Canadian]

Irvin is sounding like a schmuck on ESPN...

"I know that when I get pills I put them in a different bottle so that I have all my pills in one bottle."

Mmmmmkay.

So Irvin is going to keel over and die any day now...

[Ksyrup]

I hear that Howard K. Stern was the "mystery third person in the room" and he's going to ultimately admit that those pills were his.

[cartman]

Maybe TO got an advanced screening of the Screech sex tape?

[Toddzilla]

"I know that when I get pills I put them in a different bottle so that I have all my pills in one bottle."Are you retarded?

[Eaglesfan27]

I don't think you were out of line.

EF27 hopefully will jump in here, but my common understanding from the various stuff I learned in college, etc. is that suicides that were more "cry for help" than "trying to kill myself" are definately common. Maybe not the majority, but definately common. I find it strange personally that anyone would claim that it isn't the case.

Maybe he didn't do it literally as a "publicity stunt", but as a cry for attention I think is very plausible.


Obviously, I don't have nearly enough information to give any truly informed opinion about this specific situation.

However, in general, I think many suicide attempts that are done when people are very close by and there is a high probability that a person will "rescue them" and call the police or EMT's is more likely a cry for help, than a true desire to die. Most people who really want to die, do it where the likelihood of rescue or discovery by someone is very low.

I've listened to the radio today, and people have talked about the "72 hour hold law." I don't know Texas law, but in Louisiana and every other state where I know the law, there is NOT a law that says the hospital has to hold the patient for 72 hours. There is a law in most states that gives the hospital the right to hold the patient, if the psychiatrist deems it necessary and places an involuntary hold. I do know that psychiatrists can choose to release patients who MAY have attempted suicide if they are no longer suicidal and there is a very strong support system around them. Of course, they incur the risk of possible liability by doing so.

Therefore, his release so quickly doesn't mean that he didn't attempt suicide in my opinion. But, I obviously don't know if he did either. Whether it was accidental interaction with his suppliments, an intentional overdose, etc, I still think that it is likely that TO needs psychological help. Of course, I've held this opinion even before this latest incident.

[WSUCougar]

How many were expecting TO to pull an R. Budd Dwyer?
I was living in Philly when that happened. Freaky stuff. Action News ran it live.

[Eaglesfan27]

Yes, a suicide attempt is very often a cry for help/attention.

I'm fairly certain that HA is correct on his "girl" comment. I haven't seen a study lately, but I recall reading several that women are far more likely to make a "non-violent" suicide attempt, such as taking pills.


Women much more commonly attempt suicide via pills. Men more commonly use guns to commit suicide.

Women attempt suicide much more often (about 3 times as many attempts.) Despite this, men complete suicides much more often.

Of course, these are just statistics and don't mean that men don't attempt via pills and don't kill themselves via pills. I knew a man that has killed himself via a pill OD (again taken where there was little chance of rescue by a friend or family member.)

[JeeberD]

Are you retarded?

Me or The Playmaker?

[Eaglesfan27]

Because this is a someone who needs help. Irregardless of why he did this, he needs help. He isn't a murderer or a pedophile. He's someone who has serious issues (no matter if it was a "faked" attempt or not) and he's obviously going through a lot.

For those of us who have had realatives who have came close to this conclusion, dealt with people who have or have been there ourselves. . . we understand the desperation that TO was feeling when he did this.

Again, the reasons are irrelevant. If he swallowed 35 pills for the sole purpose of getting attention and this is one wild publicity stunt, he has problems. I can only hope this gets him to fix those problems.

I don't like TO. I think he's a punk and I don't care if he ever plays another down of football. But I think he has serious mental health issues and as a fellow human, I have both compassion for those issues and hope that he can solve them.

Still catching up with this thread, but best post yet. I completely agree with everything in this post.

[Eaglesfan27]

790's resident medical expert (He's a physician, and the brother of one of their radio personalities) is saying that if T.O. truly took 30ish pills, he would not be released by now.


Generally true. However, if they pumped his stomach quickly and then monitored him for 12 hours and found no physiological effects of opiate intoxication, it's possible he could have taken the pills and then been released. Usually, a psychiatrist would put an involuntary hold on a patient who was believed to have taken 30ish pills, but it's not impossible that he could have taken the pills and still been released by the psychiatrist.

[Schmidty]

Me or The Playmaker?

Haha.

[Galaril]

How about that publicist line about "Terrell has 23 million reasons to be alive"
very classy. He has 23 million reasons to be alive as for all your poor plebs out there just kill yourselves off already. What an asshat bitch!

[wade moore]

Obviously, I don't have nearly enough information to give any truly informed opinion about this specific situation.

However, in general, I think many suicide attempts that are done when people are very close by and there is a high probability that a person will "rescue them" and call the police or EMT's is more likely a cry for help, than a true desire to die. Most people who really want to die, do it where the likelihood of rescue or discovery by someone is very low.

I've listened to the radio today, and people have talked about the "72 hour hold law." I don't know Texas law, but in Louisiana and every other state where I know the law, there is NOT a law that says the hospital has to hold the patient for 72 hours. There is a law in most states that gives the hospital the right to hold the patient, if the psychiatrist deems it necessary and places an involuntary hold. I do know that psychiatrists can choose to release patients who MAY have attempted suicide if they are no longer suicidal and there is a very strong support system around them. Of course, they incur the risk of possible liability by doing so.

Therefore, his release so quickly doesn't mean that he didn't attempt suicide in my opinion. But, I obviously don't know if he did either. Whether it was accidental interaction with his suppliments, an intentional overdose, etc, I still think that it is likely that TO needs psychological help. Of course, I've held this opinion even before this latest incident.

Informative post. You basically answered what I was saying, I wasn't expecting you to speak to TO's specifics, but just the generallity of suicide attempts.

[TroyF]

How about that publicist line about "Terrell has 23 million reasons to be alive"
very classy. He has 23 million reasons to be alive as for all your poor plebs out there just kill yourselves off already. What an asshat bitch!


All a line like that does is convince me even more that he did it. It's not what a normal person would say. It's something a brain dead idiot might come up with as a "witty" joke at the end of a PR coverup though.

[jbmagic]

What so funny is he didnt even commit suicide.

It was just a bad reaction to pain killers.

Its so funny how people turn this as a suicide attempt because he is such a jerk.

[cartman]

What so funny is he didnt even commit suicide.

It was just a bad reaction to pain killers.

Its so funny how people turn this as a suicide attempt because he is such a jerk.

Well, there is also the matter of the statements in the police report. That is what touched off the whole episode. That's still an unanswered question for me, as to why the paramedics at the scene asked for the police to show up as well.

[RedKingGold]

What so funny is he didnt even commit suicide.

It was just a bad reaction to pain killers.

Its so funny how people turn this as a suicide attempt because he is such a jerk.

I don't think we have enough evidence either way.

It could be an actual suicide attempt or it could have been an accident.

The only thing we know for certain is that the police report and TO/TO's publicist are saying two different things.

Because of TO's previous actions over his career, and other factors (a.k.a. supposed messed up childhood); I'm more inclined to believe that the Dallas police report is more credible than TO.

But jumping over to the other side and saying that it was "an absolute accident" like you are doing is no more guilty than others saying it was a suicide attempt because he was a "jerk".

(Also jb, maybe you should proofread your posts before you post them. I think you are missing obvious grammarical errors.)

[MizzouRah]

Who cares?

Apparently ESPN as they had just about everyone report on it. I'm about sick and tired of ESPN. Oh no, TO isn't happy with his life, boo hoo. What a psyco.

[jbmagic]

I don't think we have enough evidence either way.

It could be an actual suicide attempt or it could have been an accident.

The only thing we know for certain is that the police report and TO/TO's publicist are saying two different things.

Because of TO's previous actions over his career, and other factors (a.k.a. supposed messed up childhood); I'm more inclined to believe that the Dallas police report is more credible than TO.

But jumping over to the other side and saying that it was "an absolute accident" like you are doing is no more guilty than others saying it was a suicide attempt because he was a "jerk".

(Also jb, maybe you should proofread your posts before you post them. I think you are missing obvious grammarical errors.)

Then people should stop jumping to conclusion that he commited suicide until all the facts come out.

People love to pile on him because people don't like him. It just an excuse for people to do so.

[MizzouRah]

Then people should stop jumping to conclusion that he commited suicide until all the facts come out.

People love to pile on him because people don't like him. It just an excuse for people to do so.

Yeah, c'mon people have some sympathy for that a hole. The whole world owes TO... cry me a river.

[molson]

Then people should stop jumping to conclusion that he commited suicide until all the facts come out.


I'm pretty sure that he didn't commit suicide. I think we've established that much.

[Logan]

I can't believe TO is boning a chick as ugly as her.

[cartman]

I wonder how many pill bottles the Philly fans are going to throw on the field during that game?

[Logan]

I wonder how many pill bottles the Philly fans are going to throw on the field during that game?

Thank you, guy-who-read-Bill-Simmons'-chat-today.

[cartman]

Thank you, guy-who-read-Bill-Simmons'-chat-today.

Nope, didn't read it. What else would you expect from a crowd that booed Santa Claus?

[Logan]

^ Creativity. :)

[RGunner]

I live in the Dallas area, and I've been to the Baylor Hospital where he was treated, and I was there for an overdose on pain killers (long story for another day a long time ago) I took somewhere between 10-15 pills, and although I had my stomach pumped to get them out within hours, I was held there for 2 days under intense watch, even though my parents and myself wanted to leave because we thought i was fine. I'm not saying he didn't try to kill himself, but theres no way he took 35 pills, theres no way he is out of the hospital right now and running around practicing if he takes 35 of any type of pill, much less hydrocodine. I believe that he took more pain pills than he should have, and then, being an idiot, took supplements and got fucked up more than he thought he would, and then he has a moron for a publicist. but there is no way he took 35 vicodin pills, when i almost OD'd, I blacked out for a little while after a third of that number, and if they didnt get me to the hospital within 20 minutes i would have probably died. I could be wrong, but thats just my opinion

[TroyF]

Then people should stop jumping to conclusion that he commited suicide until all the facts come out.

People love to pile on him because people don't like him. It just an excuse for people to do so.

Whoa there Jb, there ARE facts in this case now, and there were this morning. The police report is a factual document and it reports a suicide attempt. Now, could the document be wrong? Sure, but as of now I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that.

A lot of NFL players take pain medication and I'd guess a lot of them take a bit much. And I can't recall a story about any of them having paramedics come to the house and admitting that they took pills to hurt themselves.

What the people who are saying he'd be kept are forgetting is the fact that TO is a celebrity. They get treated differently all the time. He was in the hospital overnight and was released this morning. Plenty of time for the pills to get out of his system. His PR team could easily have moved for a quick release with all sorts of reasoning and court mumbo jumbo at their disposal.

[Rizon]

No way he took 30 pills. 25, maybe. Because this is TO ... if he tried to take 30 pills he would have for sure dropped at least 5 of them.

[Galaxy]

I'll also second the comment about his childhood. I saw some SportsCentury/Beyond the Glory thing on him and it sounds like he was forced into being a recluse growing up. His father lived across the street from TO, and no one told TO until he was 12 years old and hitting on his (unknown to him) half-sister. I always hate when someone uses someone's past to justify their behaviors, but if you saw what TO went through growing up, it explains a lot of things. (Side note: if you can, see Ray Lewis' Beyond the Glory.)

I believe his grandmother (who raised him) wasn't the kindest person either.

[Anthony]

here's an article from today's SI.com piece about him (regarding his earlier troubles/hard life):

In an article I wrote that ran in SI in the fall of 1998, Owens talked about growing up as an outcast in Alexander City, Ala. Owens, the story noted, "got no play from girls and tons of grief from almost everyone. Lighter-skinned peers called him 'Purple Pal' and 'Shine' and picked on him for being skinny. They also picked fights, leaving Owens two choices: get his butt kicked or run. Once an older boy confronted him at a crowded rec center, and when Owens bolted, the boy chased him home. A quarter-mile later, when Owens made it to his front door, it felt like the whole neighborhood was laughing."

Said Owens then: "Everybody wanted to fight me. I was pretty much the most picked-on guy in high school, and I took a lot of beatings. Being dark-skinned wasn't in back then, so I'd hear stuff like, 'I'm glad you don't go to night school, because the teacher would call you absent.'"

Later in the story, there was this quote from Jeremy Freeman, one of Owens' few close friends from home: "He was one of those people who just didn't fit in," Freeman said. "If there was a party, he probably wasn't invited, and if he showed up no one would talk to him."

Freeman also said that if Owens wasn't a virgin during high school, "He was a one-shot chop at best. Girls just didn't like him, and he had nothing to offer. He didn't have an open personality, a car or nice clothes. He'd just stay inside and suffer."

[Izulde]

here's an article from today's SI.com piece about him (regarding his earlier troubles/hard life):

As I'm discovering more about TO's background as a result of this, the more respect and yes, liking, I have for him.

You can call him a jerk, attention whore, whatever if you want, but for certain types of individuals, the bitterness and loneliness that accumulates in cases of being largely shunned and ridiculed in formative years right up till high school stay and it never completely goes away.

That incident when he was 12? Yeah, that'd fuck with my head, too. Our lineage, particularly our patriarchal ancestry, is important, given the way our society is set up. Add on top of the unwitting incestual aspects of hitting on his sister and it makes for an even bigger mindfuck (And if you don't believe that, there's a guy called Oedipus to talk to).

The years of being ignored, of being ostracized combined with everything else create a deep-seated poison that as I've said, never entirely disappears. People are never to be completely trusted, never allowed too close, because they're just as likely to turn their backs and then back to the past time. The world does not appreciate, can never appreciate the person for who they are, only for their talents, such as catching a football. Thus, the person becomes not whole and complete in identity to the public world, but marginalized and grotesqued into the most vicious kind of synecdoche.

The venom being spewed forth? Confirmation of everything in the past.

[JAG]

As his publicist and friend, Kim Etheredge knows T.O....And she had to know the disappointment T.O. felt about missing his son's 7th birthday Monday, the same day the engagement to his fiancée ended.

So Etheredge reacted swiftly when she saw a prescription bottle that once held 40 painkillers sitting empty on a table, especially with T.O. unresponsive.

She didn't think about whether he was attempting suicide. Or how he would be portrayed in the public. Or whether ESPN would spend 15 minutes without a commercial dissecting T.O. at the start of its 5 p.m. edition of SportsCenter.

Sounds like the most plausible explanation to me. He had some type of odd reaction to his painkillers (he had been reported as having a bad reaction the previous week as well), his publicist noticed the pill bottle missing and his weird reaction and jumped to a conclusion of what happened...and was wrong (and her line about 25 million reasons was just idiotic, I hope she wishes she could take that back).

It definitely does make you think he's not a happy guy when a close friend of his thinks he contemplated suicide. Not that surprising that he would be despite the public persona he puts on.

[Eaglesfan27]

Whoa there Jb, there ARE facts in this case now, and there were this morning. The police report is a factual document and it reports a suicide attempt. Now, could the document be wrong? Sure, but as of now I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that.

A lot of NFL players take pain medication and I'd guess a lot of them take a bit much. And I can't recall a story about any of them having paramedics come to the house and admitting that they took pills to hurt themselves.

What the people who are saying he'd be kept are forgetting is the fact that TO is a celebrity. They get treated differently all the time. He was in the hospital overnight and was released this morning. Plenty of time for the pills to get out of his system. His PR team could easily have moved for a quick release with all sorts of reasoning and court mumbo jumbo at their disposal.

Exactly. I'm not saying that TO attempted or didn't attempt suicide. But, I think Rgunner's experience is different, unless he is a celebrity and I don't know it. For one, some psychiatrists and other doctors are more conservative than others. Two, as Troy said, he is a celebrity. Docs and hospitals are not immunte to the type of pressure that can generate. I've had to evaluate a college player in an ER once for a suspected suicide attempt, and his coach put a lot of pressure on me and my attending to not diagnose it as a suicide attempt and to allow his immediate discharge. I can only imagine how much pressure a professional athlete could generate on the hospital and doctors in question..

However, jbmagic said it wasn't a suicide attempt, so it must not have been.

[JAG]

One last thing from me in digging up info for what happened. Warning: a good bit of this is just kooky, read at your own risk. I highlighted the stuff he was doing to heal his injury quicker which I thought was kind of amazing.

hxxp://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/092806dnspoowenstrainer.2e6991d.html

Trainer cites physical, emotional setbacks

08:16 AM CDT on Thursday, September 28, 2006

By MICHAEL GRANBERRY / The Dallas Morning News

Terrell Owens' longtime personal trainer said Wednesday that "a perfect storm" of physically and emotionally devastating events conspired to put the superstar receiver into a tailspin that resulted in a trip to the emergency room Tuesday.

Those events also generated what the trainer called "erroneous" reports of a suicide attempt.

"A lot of things were coming to a head anyway, and then this happened," said James "Buddy" Primm, 55, who until earlier this month, had been living with Owens in his loft on Commerce Street, in the shadow of Fair Park.

Primm said Owens underwent two traumatic events Monday involving his 7-year-old son and his fiancée, a woman he has dated for three years.

Owens' son, from a previous relationship, celebrated his birthday Monday, Primm said. Owens was distraught, he said, about not being able to be see the boy, who lives in California.

"He wanted to get together with the boy," Primm said. "But the boy could not come here, and Terrell could not go there."

Then hours later, a woman whom Primm described as Owens' fiancée broke off the relationship. Primm declined to give the woman's last name but said she and Owens had been dating for three years. She also lives in California.

"That's been coming on forever," Primm said of the breakup. "She's not a bad girl. She's cool, she's fine. He said, 'Can I take a break from the engagement?' And she said, 'No, let's just put a stop to it.' And that was a complete surprise to Terrell."

Primm, who lives in Duluth, Ga., near Owens' off-season residence in Atlanta, has known the Cowboys receiver for seven years. They met when Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers, "exactly 16 weeks before he stood on the star" during a game at Texas Stadium.

That happened during the 2000 season, and Primm says that since then the two have forged a father-son-like bond that Owens seems to need. Growing up in abject poverty in rural Alabama, Owens was raised by his mother and grandmother and, according to Primm, has long been in need of a dominant male figure in his life.

"He's getting to be like my son," said Primm, who returned to his home in Georgia last week. He plans to return to Dallas in the next few days to be with Owens.

Owens "doesn't have many friends," said the trainer, who contends that the public and news media have long misperceived a man he considers "a gentle soul" and a "caring, highly sensitive" individual with a fragile psyche.

"He's a good person," Primm said. "A very good person."

Primm said he had been in touch with Owens and members of the player's inner circle on Wednesday. He said that after hearing the chronology of Tuesday's events, he understood why and how the incident took place and that suicide wasn't an issue.

"He probably took the pain medication and fell off to sleep," Primm said. "Then when he gets up, of course he's going to be weird."

Before arriving at the Cowboys' practice facility at Valley Ranch on Tuesday, Owens spent the morning addressing students at a local high school about the perils of domestic abuse and how it's not their fault should their parents choose to fight.

"It's an issue he cares about," Primm said.

Owens reported to the Cowboys' practice facility at 11:30 a.m. and worked out "hard," Primm said, catching "bullets" from quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe and Tony Romo for the first time since last week's surgery on his broken right hand.

And for the first time since the surgery, Owens felt serious pain, the trainer said, noting that until Tuesday night, Owens had not been on a regular routine of taking pain medication "because he hadn't needed to."

The receiver left Valley Ranch around 4 p.m. Tuesday and drove home in rush-hour traffic, arriving at his Exposition Park loft around 5:30 p.m.

That's when the physical trauma began.

At Primm's direction, Owens had been taking about 30 supplements a day, up from his normal six, "to accelerate the healing process," the trainer said. The supplements included "all different types of calcium, all different types of magnesium ... a few different types of glandulars," Primm said. "Things for the immune system, to get blood to that area."

He said he had also been using a $40,000 laser device on Owens' injury.

"Five minutes on the bottom of the hand, five minutes on the top" first thing in the morning, Primm said. That had accelerated the healing process, he said, in addition to another device about the size of a breadbox, into which Owens inserted a gloved hand wrapped in a towel to help "dissolve scar tissue."

Primm said that under normal circumstances, the machine designed to remove scar tissue "just knocks you out. It makes you sleepy."

He said the machine has the dual effect of "getting rid of scar tissue and of cells the body isn't using." Such therapy is vital, he said, in allowing bones to heal as rapidly as possible.

It was Primm who introduced Owens to such devices and to the hyperbaric chamber, which he said enabled the athlete to play in Super Bowl XXXIX in February 2005 for the Philadelphia Eagles, despite suffering a broken leg only weeks before.

But the combination of this week's events was apparently too much, the trainer said.

As for what comes next, Primm predicts that Owens will play Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. And how will he fare for the rest of the season?

"Great," the trainer said.

[Warhammer]

There is too much at stake for everyone involved for it to be ruled a suicide attempt. I believe it was one, and now everyone is attempting to cover it up.

Let's face it, if his fiancee did in fact dump him, even for all he can do on the football field, she still was leaving him. Yet another slap in his face, and he can't outrun his demons.

I heard somewhere on the radio yesterday that the pain pills he was on metabolize rapidly so that they would be out of his system fairly quick and he would have few ill effects if any at all after this episode. That could account for why he was back at the practice facility.