Terrell Owens on Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft snubs

NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens said Wednesday that the recent snubs of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former coach Bill Belichick from the institution show the system is flawed, and someone needs to be held accountable.

“It’s just plain dumb” Owens told CNBC Sport in an interview in San Francisco ahead of Super Bowl LX. “Something has to change.”

The decisions not to vote Kraft and Belichick into the Pro Football Hall of Fame raised eyebrows because of the Patriots’ success. With a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the franchise would hold the most Super Bowl wins of any NFL team with seven. Belichick was the team’s head coach for all six of its championship victories, including one over Owens’ Philadelphia Eagles.

Owens suggested it may be Jim Porter, the Hall of Fame’s president, who has the power to change the system.

“He has to change or make some some adjustments or amendments into either the criteria or the mission statement of the Hall of Fame. Something has to be done,” Owens said.

He also placed the blame on the writers responsible for voting.

“Whoever put the guidelines and the bylaws in place to ultimately land coaches and athletes in the most prestigious place that you could ever be, and that’s Canton. If the people that you’re appointed aren’t adhering to that, then something’s wrong. They should be held accountable. They should be stripped of their position,” he said.

In response, the Pro Football Hall of Fame pointed to a statement issued in late January. The organization said it appreciates the passionate reaction of fans and media and it takes the selection process very seriously.

“If it is determined that any member(s) violated the selection process bylaws, they understand action will be taken,” they warned. “The selection of a new class is the most important duty the Hall of Fame oversees each year, and the integrity of that process cannot be in question.”

The former six-time Pro Bowler Owens would know something about Hall of Fame voting. Owens played 15 seasons in the NFL and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018 after being passed over twice despite being ranked near the top of nearly every receiving category. Owens said it cost him financially.

“There’s a lot of complicated financial opportunity that comes with being really a first-ballot Hall of Famer. There’s a ring to it,” he added. “It used to mean so much, and now it seems to be a little bit watered down.”

When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Owens opted to skip the celebration in Canton, Ohio, instead holding his own celebration at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, his alma mater, in protest of what he called a “flawed process,” according to ESPN.