Irvin agrees with HOF's decision to downplay Owens' induction
Ahead of next month's Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony, two Dallas Cowboys greats remain in stark opposition to each other.
Terrell Owens, who's scheduled to be inducted into the Hall on Aug. 4, won't be attending the ceremony with the rest of the 2018 class. In turn, the Hall stated that Owens wouldn't receive the customary individual spotlight.
Michael Irvin, who starred for the Cowboys from 1988-1999 and was inducted into the Hall in 2007, agreed with the decision to minimally highlight Owens' career and contributions.
"We can't spend this moment for all these other guys talking about the guy that is not here," Irvin said, according to ESPN's Todd Archer. "You cannot do that and take that away. He's doing his own thing wherever he's doing his own thing and God bless him. And when they mention the class they'll mention him but why should you steal those other guys' moment because of the decision of this one? I think it's the right move. They're not saying he's not going to have a bust in the room. They're not saying he's not getting his jacket. They're saying, 'We're honoring his wish. He doesn't want to be here with us, we're going to mention him as little as possible.' I think it's the right move."
Related: Owens won't attend Hall of Fame induction ceremony
"I was disappointed that we will be cheated as a Hall of Fame team, one of our teammates, that he took that decision," Irvin added. "Of course everybody says, 'He has the right to make the decision.' Yes, he does, and we have the right to say we don't like it. It is what it is. And I'm also disappointed because, you know, we fought for T.O. It wasn't like T.O. had said that it didn't matter, 'I don't care about being in the Hall,' or, 'I don't care about that at all.' Then everybody wouldn't have invested emotions and feelings into it and we did. ... We talked about it, tried to get him in. We talked about it on air because he rightfully belongs in there. Then he gets in and he makes that decision, I was absolutely disappointed about it."
Owens ranks second on the all-time receiving yards list (15,934), third in receiving touchdowns (153), and eight in receptions (1,078), leading the NFL in receiving touchdowns three times in his career while earning six Pro Bowl selections.