The Terrell Owens Suicide Saga

By John M Grohol PsyD
September 28, 2006

While The Smoking Gun sticks by its reporting that Terrell Owens tried to commit suicide, others remain unconvinced. Michael Silver, over at Sports Illustrated, believes Owens has a moodier, darker side that many people don’t know, but which he has seen.

Owens himself has denied the attempt, suggesting instead that he took natural supplements and too many painkillers together. This combination made him “groggy” and then “non-responsive,” to use Owens’ words.

What’s really going on here?

The answer may never be known (or we may have to wait for his autobiography another decade or two from now). It’s not unthinkable that Owens indeed tried to commit suicide, but as soon as his handlers caught wind of it, they found a way to “spin” the facts to fit the image of a strong American athlete.

The alternative, a man troubled by his own battles with depression and dark moods, wouldn’t really help an athlete’s future career ambitions or current efforts on a team. If a player can’t be 100% in the game, as they say, then the whole team suffers. And few football team owners want such trouble on their own teams.

I don’t know that this whole incident does anything other than to nicely illustrate that even the idea of suicide is scary and remains firmly stigmatized within American culture. This despite the fact that the majority of people have at least fleetingly considered suicide at one time in their lives.

Which reminds us here… If you’re considering suicide, please take a moment to check out our suicide resources first. Suicide is nearly always a permanent answer to a temporary problem.

No matter what happened with Owens, the public should grant him some space and privacy around this issue. Nobody should be forced to disclose their medical or health issues in the public spotlight, no matter who they are.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues, and the intersection of technology and psychology since 1992.