T.O. Attempts suicide...

In My Humble Opinion
21

[QUOTE=Jimmy Chitwood]
He’s a one man Lord of the Flies scenario; you’ve got him around and all of a sudden people are sniping back and forth, there are rivalries developing, everybody’s watching what they say, people that didn’t used to have a problem with each other are suddenly saying, Hey, yeah, he is a choker, isn’t he? He’s a train wreck, and I don’t see how you could see him any other way. How would you characterize what happened during his tenure in Philly? How could it have gone more right for him?
[/QUOTE]

I’m a Niner fan and I agree with your post 100%. He’s a great player who’s an impossible teammate.

That said, I hope he’s doing well now and he gets the help he needs.

22

::comes into thread to find out who the heck “T.O.” is::

Hmmm. Athletes’ doctors often deploy some industrial-strength painkillers. Sports medicine being a rather specialized subfield and pain management being an obviously important area they’ve got to be good at, etc. I could see how they might impair judgment in such a way that the person taking them could end up taking a lethal dose without being fully aware of the consequences.

23

I often wondered why none of his detractors have ever screwed with him about when, early in career, he sobbed openly after catching the winning pass in a SF playoff game vs. Green Bay. Not that there is anything wrong with crying, but it does kind of go against the current image he projects.

24

[QUOTE=AHunter3]
Hmmm. Athletes’ doctors often deploy some industrial-strength painkillers. Sports medicine being a rather specialized subfield and pain management being an obviously important area they’ve got to be good at, etc. I could see how they might impair judgment in such a way that the person taking them could end up taking a lethal dose without being fully aware of the consequences.
[/QUOTE]
Understandable for a rookie. In fact, Mike Golic (of Mike & Mike In The Morning) shared an amusing anecdote about a rookie accidentally taking his entire pain pill pescription at once.

But Owens is a ten year vet. There is no possible way that he is at all unfamiliar or unacquainted with a normal football-related pain medication regimen.

That particular catch (against Green Bay) was made much more memorable because it might have been the first catch he held onto that day. He had a serious case of the dropsies in that game.

I feel bad for the guy. I’m hoping his teammates don’t throw him under the bus as happened to Barret Robbins in Oakland. As much as I hate Owens, which is a considerable amount, I truly do wish him all the best. (He is the ultimate Giant-killer, almost singlehandedly responsible for the Giants’ humiliating Wildcard collapse in 2002, plus beating up on the G-Men in the inaugural Thursday Night season opener of that same year, plus embarassing the Jints opening day in 2004 with the Eagles, etc…)

But damn if this isn’t ripe for some humor.

Headline: TO tries to Kill Me Some Me

What’s the difference between Owens and McNabb? Owens vomits after he chokes.

I almost feel dirty.

25

Assuming it is true, and assuming he continues to play, it will be interesting to see how he deals with the fans who will mercilessly taunt him for this. And will he be able to be the same loud, boorish ass, knowing that everyone knows he has attempted something that is not deemed to be a manly, tough guy thing to do? Sort of like does Marv Albert have the same aura and respect now that we know he likes to role play wearing womens undies?

26

[QUOTE=AHunter3]
::comes into thread to find out who the heck “T.O.” is::

Hmmm. Athletes’ doctors often deploy some industrial-strength painkillers. Sports medicine being a rather specialized subfield and pain management being an obviously important area they’ve got to be good at, etc. I could see how they might impair judgment in such a way that the person taking them could end up taking a lethal dose without being fully aware of the consequences.
[/QUOTE]

In the smoking gun report, an emergency personnel person asked him, “are you trying to harm yourself?”

And he said, “yes”.

27

[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic]
The alleged suicide attempt sounds like bullshit to me. He’s already left the hospital. Why would he be released already if it was a suicide attempt. To me it sounds like T.O. misunderstood a question from the cops and now the press is going bonkers over nothing.

I feel sorry for the guy either way. I’ve never seen a pro athlete who’s been demonized so much for so little.
[/QUOTE]

But you probably never saw such a completely self-centered and team-wrecking athlete such as T.O. He’s a superb athlete but almost a total waste as a team member.

28

Just as a side note: some pretty insanely rich, famous, “has everything anyone could DREAM of having” celebrities and socialites have attempted suicide or have suffered from depression. People with, say, Borderline Personality Disorder can seem like total egomaniacs but have very low self-esteem and a high percentage of them (compared to others) attempt to commit suicide.

Maybe a psychiatric illness could explain his behavior, personality, and depression (if this is indeed what it is.) Maybe the man’s bipolar and swings from mania to depression a few times a year. It could explain the outlandish, manic behavior as well as this suicide attempt.

Worth considering, at any rate.

29

[QUOTE=Elenfair]
Just as a side note: some pretty insanely rich, famous, “has everything anyone could DREAM of having” celebrities and socialites have attempted suicide or have suffered from depression. People with, say, Borderline Personality Disorder can seem like total egomaniacs but have very low self-esteem and a high percentage of them (compared to others) attempt to commit suicide.

Maybe a psychiatric illness could explain his behavior, personality, and depression (if this is indeed what it is.) Maybe the man’s bipolar and swings from mania to depression a few times a year. It could explain the outlandish, manic behavior as well as this suicide attempt.

Worth considering, at any rate.
[/QUOTE]

The line on TO is that he has “Narcissistic Personality Disorder”.

30

[QUOTE=Trunk]
The line on TO is that he has “Narcissistic Personality Disorder”.
[/QUOTE]

What line?

31

I’m not normally one for armchair psychology, but the following is from here

32

[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic]
What line?
[/QUOTE]

The line of bullshit that continually flows from talking heads on the TV.

I don’t know shit about psychiatry. I wouldn’t even know the term if I hadn’t heard it applied to TO, I think.

So, don’t take it as me saying “he has NPD”.

Take it as me relaying that I’ve heard it if people want to start applying disorders. People who actually know about NPD can debate it.

33

[QUOTE=Trunk]
I’m not normally one for armchair psychology, but the following is from here
[/QUOTE]

I was asking for a cite that T.O. had ever been formally diagnosed as NPD, but other than the suicide attempt, I don’t see that he fits any of the criteria that you’ve quoted. He doesn’t miss work (except for imjury) or have performance problems on the field (he’s actually a very hard worker) and I’ve never seen any evidence that he neglects friends or family, or that he’s ever been a danger to other people, or that he’s had any “frequent” suicidal occupation.

I actually think bi-polar disorder may be more likely, with his most grandiose moments occurring in his manic stages.

34

BAD mistake on Jerry Jones’ part. I can’t imagine any other team taking him on now after the Cowboys release him after putting him on the non football injury list for the year.

35

[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic]
I was asking for a cite that T.O. had ever been formally diagnosed as NPD, but other than the suicide attempt, I don’t see that he fits any of the criteria that you’ve quoted. He doesn’t miss work (except for imjury) or have performance problems on the field (he’s actually a very hard worker) and I’ve never seen any evidence that he neglects friends or family, or that he’s ever been a danger to other people, or that he’s had any “frequent” suicidal occupation.

I actually think bi-polar disorder may be more likely, with his most grandiose moments occurring in his manic stages.
[/QUOTE]
That’s not something I’m able to debate, however. . .

Yes, he does miss work without being injured. Call it a hold-out. Call it a “hamstring”. Say it was only “practice”, but he has missed plenty.

His entire last season with the Eagles was spent alienating and avoiding his friends.

I don’t know if he has frequent suicidal occupation, but apparently he’s had one big one. You think it was just the first time he ever though about it?

That said, I tend to think some of these disorders are like horoscopes. You could put the “symptoms” of any of them up on the screen, and probably say, “That’s TOTALLY T.O”.

Anyway, if you google terrel owens narcissistic personality disorder, you come up wtih several links, nothing definitive at first blush. (*)

this one looks somewhat interesting – it’s not a real diagnosis, but a guy saying he’s had doctors tell him that that’s what it looks like.

(*) of course, if you google terrel owens bi-polar, you get a bunch of shit, too, so who knows.

36

[QUOTE=Wee Bairn]
Assuming it is true, and assuming he continues to play, it will be interesting to see how he deals with the fans who will mercilessly taunt him for this.
[/QUOTE]
Although I’ve never been a fan of TO, I will cringe for him when the empty pill bottles rain down from the stands.

Regardless of my disgust for his professional conduct, I hope he receives the medical help, be it on a physical or psychiatric level, that he so desperately needs. Maybe he should get out of spectator sports and, thus, the spotlight for a year or even permanently. It’s not been good for him and, IMHO, he’s not been good for the game.

Fame and money be damned, his current involvement is leading him on a downward spiral.

37

Just read the Smoking Gun article- do people who are serious about suicide do so in the presence of the others, where the other person is able to remove the pills from their mouth?

38

[QUOTE=lieu]
Although I’ve never been a fan of TO, I will cringe for him when the empty pill bottles rain down from the stands.

Regardless of my disgust for his professional conduct, I hope he receives the medical help, be it on a physical or psychiatric level, that he so desperately needs. Maybe he should get out of spectator sports and, thus, the spotlight for a year or even permanently. It’s not been good for him and, IMHO, he’s not been good for the game.

Fame and money be damned, his current involvement is leading him on a downward spiral.
[/QUOTE]

There’s hope. He could leave spectator ports and take up Squash. Then someone can set up a T.O.-Rumsfeld match, and Rummy would end up in a full body cast, the first time he doesn’t clear. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

39

ESPN is reporting now that Owens is denying the suicide attempt. I suspected it was bullshit and it looks like that’s the case.

40

I think this is a sad day for those that suffer from mental illness.

Regardless of whether T.O. suffers from suicidal ideation, is it not his right to receive medical treatment in private?

I wonder how so much information was made available to the public so quickly. Information down to what the details of the EMS responders treatment was.

If I need medical treatment for whatever reason, I seek it with the understanding that everthing surrounding the situation is privileged information. I feel that celebrities should be afforded and should be able to expect the same right unless they choose to make the information public and give specific consent to their caregivers to discuss the information with the media. I also feel that the media should be obliged to respect the right to privacy and the decisions of the patient even if they do happen to learn details.

If I need medical treatment for a condition which could be considered stigmatizing should the information be released to the public and I have a reasonable fear that it may indeed be public knowledge the next day, I might not go for treatment. In the case of a mental illness, this could lead to a tragic and preventable outcome.