I’m not taking sides here.  Really.  And I get the reasoning regarding the ceremony in Canton itself.

But this is a bad look for both Owens and Canton, IMHO.

“The focus is on the guys who are here,” Hall of Fame executive director Joe Horrigan told Clark Judge of the Talk of Fame Network.

The Hall will mail Owens his gold jacket Saturday morning. The mercurial receiver won’t be individually mentioned with other inductees during Friday’s Gold Jacket dinner or Saturday’s ceremony, Horrigan said.

Horrigan likened the situation to a senior who decides to skip her or his school graduation, in which the student’s name isn’t mentioned and diploma isn’t awarded on-site.

“There’s no reason to bring him up as an individual,” said Horrigan. “He’s not here.”

Questions:

Does Terrell care?

Does Canton realize that by doing this, they’re basically begging other inductees (and attendees) to go out of their way to mention him, possibly creating an interesting dynamic?

Can the gold jacket fit into a Priority Mail flat rate box, or are they gonna have to FedEx that bad boy?

Will they even bother to send him the tracking number?

What if he’s still in Chattanooga when it arrives?  Will his neighbor sign for it and then wear it around the neighborhood for a coupla days?

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