Cowboys' Owens attempted suicide, police say

Cowboys' Owens attempted suicide, police say

DALLAS [AP] — Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens attempted suicide Tuesday night by overdosing on pain medication, according to a police report.

The report says Owens even put two more pills into his mouth after fire rescue personnel arrived, according to local media.

The Dallas police report released Wednesday morning said Owens told rescue workers "that he was depressed." The report was first released by WFAA-TV.

The rescue worker "noticed that (his) prescription pain medication was empty and observed (Owens) putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said. Local FOX affiliate KDFW confirmed from the police report that paramedics found an empty pain medication bottle in Owens' home.

The worker 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. The worker then asked Owens "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time (he) stated, 'Yes."'

KDFW confirmed from the police report that Owens' publicist called paramedics to the football player's home Tuesday at 7:47 p.m. Central time, saying he had taken a large quantity of prescription pain medication.

The prescription was filled Sept. 18, the day after Owens broke a bone in his hand during a Cowboys game. 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.

Owens was taken to Baylor Medical Center's emergency room and was released late Tuesday, according to KDFW. The athlete is believed to be at home recovering.

A news conference is scheduled for later Wednesday morning.

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' publicist had originally said the hospitalization was due to an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for his broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

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.

Known as one of National Football League's top wide receivers, Owens was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 1996, and he played there until 2003 amid increasing conflicts with teammates and media. After the 2003 season, Owens was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he established himself as one of the most prolific receivers in that team's history in just one season.

But he's also made headlines for his sometime outlandish behavior, both on and off the field. During the second season of his seven-year, $48.97 contract, Owens wanted the Eagles to renegotiate his deal. When the Eagles refused, he threatened to skip training camp altogether. He did show up to practice but was more distant than usual. He was later kicked out of training for a week after arguing with head coach Andy Reid. But true to form, Owens refused to apologize for his behavior.

Return to Main Page

Comments

Add Comment




Search This Site


Syndicate this blog site

Powered by BlogEasy


Free Blog Hosting