Terrell Owens quickly backtracks after calling Bill Belichick and the Patriots cheaters
T.O. may or may not think the Patriots are a bunch of cheaters
By
John Breech
•
2 min read
If Terrell Owens' goal this month was to try and start a feud with as many people as possible, then he's off to a hot start.
The former NFL wide receiver, who's already feuding with the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is now at odds with Patriots fans after calling New England a bunch of cheaters this week. After a game of pickup basketball with Sam Cassell on Monday, Owens started trash-talking the former NBA player, which led to some trash-talking about the Patriots.
"You sound like the Patriots. You know what I mean? Hey, I don't care about the Patriots -- Belichick, Brady -- they cheaters. They cheated. They cheated," Owens is heard saying in a video that he posted to Instagram.
T.O. calling the Patriots cheaters on Instagram 😒🏈 pic.twitter.com/5t41ZaSTO5
— Patriots on NBCSB (@NBCSPatriots) July 17, 2018
If you're wondering why Owens might have called the Patriots cheaters, it could have been because he was on the losing end of Super Bowl XXXIX when New England beat his Eagles 24-21 back in February 2005, in a game where at least one former Eagles coach things the Patriots were stealing signals. Former Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who was a linebackers coach for the Eagles in that game, has gone on record saying that the Patriots had Philly's defensive signals during the game.
Of course, there's also Deflategate and Spygate and let's not forget that several Rams players (Orlando Pace and Isaac Bruce) are still convinced that the Patriots cheated during their 20-17 upset win over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Anyway, whether that cheating happened or not, Patriots fans DID NOT take kindly to their team being called a bunch of cheaters by Owens and they let him know it on Twitter over the past few days.
@terrellowens I see you’ve taken another route to gain attention. Being a certified Patriot hater. What a disgrace you are.
— JS (@bulldogsandpats) July 18, 2018
Wow what a comment by @terrellowens about Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Get over yourself man and deal with it. I used to have respect for you but forget it now. Your just mad because the Patriots don't want your arrogant ass. #NoClass #Crybaby
— Jared Shadix (@ShadixBoy79) July 18, 2018
@terrellowens Man, keep the Patriots out of your dysfunctional world. I get the fact they whooped you during your vagabond career, but man up.
— Joseph Loiselle (@jrlbruschi) July 18, 2018
@terrellowens still salty about that super bowl loss to the @Patriots? 😢😢 sucks to have no rings doesn’t it LOSER
— Teddy Holbrook (@teddyjagbrook) July 18, 2018
Owens must have gotten tired of reading his Twitter mentions, because less than 24 hours later, he was already backtracking on his "cheaters" comment.
"I said it tongue and cheek that they were cheaters," Owens told TMZ. "It's not anything that hasn't been discussed, but it was just a friendly conversation and I was joking. You can't take anything away from what they've done. We lost to them [in Super Bowl XXXIX]."
Although Owens might have been joking, it's also possible that he just doesn't want to burn any bridges with the Patriots. Keep in mind, this is a guy who is still trying to return to football and he's made it pretty clear over the years that he would love to play on the same team as Tom Brady at some point. Unfortunately for Owens though, that's probably never going to happen, which means this Instagram photo he made a few years ago is going to be the closest we ever get to seeing him in a Patriots uniform.
