As you sit around bountiful tables tomorrow, enjoying and celebrating all the good things we have to be thankful for, remember Richard Bloch in your prayers. Yes, remember and be thankful for the mighty actions of this mere mortal when today he agreed with reason and sanity in rejecting the NFL's players union appeal of Terrell Owens' 4-game suspension (and planned deactivation for the rest of the season) from the Philadelphia Eagles; in doing so, Bloch has brought harmony and balance back to the force.
Defying pundit's predictions and a Newsday article that the arbitrator would rule in Owens' favor (which has since been corrected), Richard Blouch announced his decision today and dismissed the appeal from the NFL players association. He states:
"The finding is the club has shouldered its burden of proof of clear and convincing evidence of player misconduct in that the four-week suspension was for just cause. Additionally, there was no inherent violation of the labor agreement in the club's decision to pay Owens but not to practice or play him due to the nature of the player's conduct and its destructive and continuing threat to the team. The finding, therefore, is that the club has shouldered its burden."
Richard Bloch, Arbitrator
On November 7th, the Eagles announced that Terrell was to be suspended for 4-games and then was to be deactivated for the rest of the season. This decision came after repeated attacks by Owens in the media where he openly criticized the Eagles management and specific players - including quarterback Donovan McNabb, a fight with teammate the previous week, and threats that he would be disruptive and "act in a deviant manner" with the team. After a seemingly honest and emotional apology to the Eagles management and team, in which he personally apologized to Coach Andy Reid and quarterback Donovan McNabb, Owens lost the last shreds of public support when his unhinged and egomaniacal agent, Drew Rosenhaus, turned the public apology into a two-bit circus. (See video of Owens apology and the Rosenhaus tirade.) Super-agent Drew Rosenhaus took to the microphones after TO's apology and issued a tirade against the media. This spectacle has led many to call for Owens, and all of Rosenhaus' other clients to fire him. (www.firedrewrosenhaus.com) Many are waiting for Owen's inevitable public response to the decision.
T.O. and his representative, super-duper agent Drew Rosenhaus, will undoubtedly gather the press in Owens' driveway in time for tomorrow's Thanksgiving Day NFL broadcasts, stumble awkwardly through a prepared statement and express their dismay at how such an enormously talented guy can be so misunderstood. Because, as they've told us before, poor T.O. is really the victim in all of this. The guy just wants to play football. Unless, of course, he has to co-exist with his quarterback and head coach to do so.
As a result of the decision, Owens will lose millions. He will definitely lose $764,705 in salary for the 4 lost games as a result of the suspension. It is also fairly certain that Philadelphia will also seek to recover $1.7 million from his signing bonus. The team added a clause to his contract allowing this if Owens was suspended for more than one game, a wise move given TO's past sketchy history. This winter, after the Super Bowl, he will surely be released as a free agent and will then lose his contract-guaranteed salary: 5.5 million in 2007, $6.5 million in 2008, $7.5 million in 2009, and $8.5 million in 2010. Finally, he has sullied (self-mutilated) his reputation so badly, he will lose many more millions in lucrative endorsements. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, and for what?
Not everyone is proclaiming this good news. Mark Kreidler with the Sacramento Bee and writing on ESPN.com says "It's hard to see what the Eagles actually won." In his column he writes:
"You will see a team that just last season played in the Super Bowl, and now is sub-.500, operating without its top receiver, and dealing with the injury-related loss of its quarterback.
You will see a Philadelphia team that signed Owens -- knowing he could be trouble -- believing he might be the final piece of the puzzle to deliver them an NFL championship. As it turns out, the Eagles got one shot at that ring, came up short and then saw their franchise torn inside-out, one media circus at a time.
You will see a team that expended untold amounts of emotional energy dealing with a man-child to whom it now will pay about $1 million to stay away from the rest of the fellas until the season is over."
Philadelphia did win a favorable ruling from arbitrator Richard Blouch regarding the suspension, but the cost to the Eagles will be formidable. In choosing deactivate Owens instead of releasing him, they still have to pay him his salary for the remaining 5 regular season games. The Eagles will be paying over a million just to keep any other team from signing Owens and having him, possibly play against the Eagles (if they can make it) in the playoffs. Under contract, they have to pay him (if he isn't suspended) but they don't have to play him.
The PTI guys, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon did 2 segments on Owens today. Here is the footage:
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We can all be thankful that the arbitrator's ruling effectively puts the Owens story off the front page and out of our minds for, at least, a while. As we say goodbye to the TO circus, watch ESPN's video retrospective of the rise and fall of Terrell Owens that culminated today.
See Also: The Volokh Conspiracy, Powerline (who was a part of the Eagles legal team).
The continuing saga of Terrell Owens continued this week with the 
