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Voter Fouts: Owens' off-field actions keeping him out of HOF

Shaun Best / Reuters

Hall of Fame quarterback and selection committee member Dan Fouts stands by Terrell Owens' second straight omission from the Canton ballot and feels the receiver got an honest assessment of his career.

Owens, the NFL's second all-time leader in receiving yards, was a Hall of Fame finalist for both of his two years since gaining eligibility, but has been kept off the induction list because of his non-football reputation, according to Fouts.

"I think his numbers are very worthy," Fouts told ESPN's The Midday 180 on Wednesday. "But again on the other side of it, I think his actions on and off the field, on the sidelines, in the locker room, and the fact he played for so many teams and was such a great player, the question that comes back to me is if he was such a great player, why did so many of those teams get rid of him?

"And I think we all know the answers."

Owens was first to break the news of his Hall of Fame miss Saturday night, announcing the news on Twitter, along with a few criticisms of the process.

This was just Fouts' first year on the selection committee, but he felt like the voters were correct in their decision and the logic in keeping Owens out.

"I think he did receive a fair evaluation of his career, both pros and cons," Fouts said. "But obviously ripping the Hall of Fame in the process, what good is that going to do. I just don't understand that. I didn't understand a lot of things he did in his career."

Having played for 15 seasons in the league and already owning a gold jacket from his induction in 1983, his first year of eligibility, Fouts was asked whether he could have hypothetically put up with Owens' antics.

"All I know is the guys I played with, never had a problem," said Fouts, who spent his entire career with the San Diego Chargers. "We were dedicated to what we were trying to do with the (Don) Coryell offense and we were excited about each Sunday we went out and played and never once did I have a player come to me and complain about not getting the ball."

While Owens did his fair share of complaining throughout his career, he finished with 1,078 catches (eighth all time) for 15,934 yards (second all time) with 153 touchdowns (third all time).

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