Colts Hall of Fame Inductee Marvin Harrison Fires Back at T.O.

According to Ron Borges of the Talk of Fame Network, Indianapolis Colts wideout great Marvin Harrison recently had some choice words for Terrell Owens.

The latter had complained after being left out of the NFL’s 8-men Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2016, as Harrison received this year’s nod at wide receiver over him:

"“I wasn’t concerned at all (about the possibility he and Owens would split votes and thus deny each other entry this year),’’ Harrison told TOF’s hosts Ron Borges, Rick Gosselin and Clark Judge this week. “I’m not concerned about, you know, T.O. Not one bit. I was concerned about myself. I wasn’t worried about splitting the vote with anyone. That was it.”“The person who was supposed to get in got in. And that was me. If he didn’t get in, that’s his problem. He can talk all that other bullshit like he’s been doing. That’s on him. But I’m in. My jacket is gold. I will look in the rear view for nobody.”“So he can get his ass in whenever he gets in … if he gets in. If he doesn’t get in too bad. The hell with him.’’"

As such, there appears to be no love lost between the two former wideout greats.

Harrison has already had to wait two years long, having already had to wait behind inferior wideouts such as Andre Reed and Tim Brown in back-to-back years before recently being announced as an inductee.

There’s a reason why he may have little sympathy for his wide receiver counterpart, as it’s now Owens’ time to wait his turn–right or wrong.

The two wideouts numbers actually compare quite favorably to one another:

• Marvin Harrison (1996-2008): 1,102 receptions for 14,580 receiving yards and 128 receiving touchdowns in 13 seasons.
• Terrell Owens (1996-2010): 1,078 receptions for 15,934 receiving yards and 153 receiving touchdowns in 15 seasons.

Anyone saying that Harrison “robbed” Owens of a Hall of Fame bid this year is delusional, as Harrison was one of the best wide receivers of his era–Owens included.

It was Harrison–not Owens, that the two cornerbacks of the NFL’s 1st-Team All-Decade Team Champ Bailey and Charles Woodson said was the toughest wide receiver they ever had to cover.

It was Harrison–not Owens, who was named to the NFL’s 1st-Team All-Decade Team, while Owens made the 2nd-team.

The friction between the two wide receivers may be a testament to their contrasting styles in play.

Harrison is incredibly quiet and private by nature and simply preferred to play the game between the whistles–handing the ball to the official after a big catch or touchdown and often attempting to draw as little attention to himself as humanly possible.

Meanwhile, Owens is loud, brash and even brought out a sharpie or a tub of popcorn to celebrate a big play. While incredibly talented, he was a polarizing player, who eventually clashed with teammates and coaches–playing for 5 different teams in 15 seasons.

Harrison? He played for only one team in 13 seasons.

Don’t get me wrong, Owens was a great wide receiver in his own right. However, Harrison was too and has clearly paid his dues in order to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

It’s not Harrison’s fault that the system is flawed, as it was already broken well before he was recently announced as a 2016 Hall of Fame inductee.