Terrell Owens Calls Critics of His Hall Fame Ceremony Snub ‘Uncle Tommers’

Last week, former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens announced that he would not attend his own induction ceremony into the Football Hall of Fame. Now, after the ensuing scoffing by fellow players and media, Owens is now calling his critics a bunch of “Uncle Tommers.”

On June 7, Owens told fans that he would refuse to attend the ceremony that will induct him into the Hall of Fame, ESPN reported.

“While I am incredibly appreciative of this opportunity, I have made the decision to publicly decline my invitation to attend the induction ceremony in Canton,” Owens said in a statement. “… After visiting Canton earlier this year, I came to the realization that I wish to celebrate what will be one of the most memorable days of my life, elsewhere.”

Almost immediately, though, some of Owens’ former football colleagues, not to mention sports journalists, slammed the three-time NFL touchdowns leader for his decision to skip the ceremony.

Former Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin, for instance, criticized Owens and related a story that didn’t exactly put the former 49er in the best light, Pro Football Talk reported.

During a recent broadcast of NFL Network’s Total Access, Irvin revealed the following incident:

It’s not about the voters. Don’t give the voters the pleasure of knowing that they meant that much to you that when you finally got in, you’re not even showing up. And the whole while you campaigned about being in. When he did not get in, he and I were shooting a commercial together one time, and he came to the commercial with a Hall of Fame gold jacket with all of his records on it. So you went and made a made-up gold jacket, but you won’t show up to get the real gold jacket? It’s something beyond my capabilities of understanding up here.

Fox Sports 1’s Jason Whitlock has also slammed Owens for his decision to skip the ceremony. But in a recent Twitter tête-à-tête with Whitlock, Owens took shots at Whitlock’s weight and ended his taunt with an offer to meet the sports commentator for donuts, but only if he loses 100 pounds. The combative Owens also took it one step farther and called Whitlock and Michael Irvin a pair of “Uncle Tommers” for siding with the Hall of Fame.

In another tweet, Owens slammed Irvin for reading Owens’ text messages on the air. He told Irvin he would never speak to him again and called him a “former coke head.”

Thus far, Irvin has not replied to Owens’ outbursts.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.