Wide receiver Terrell Owens is, surprisingly, stuck among the millions of other Americans out there who can't find a job. The interesting thing is that his inability to find work isn't directly linked to the economic downturn. Instead, it's connected to the fact that he has a reputation that precedes him. People think that Owens is arrogant, self-centered and disruptive to a team's continuity. This is most interesting because T.O. is also one of the most talented wide receivers in NFL history.

Most interestingly, TO has offered to play for the New England Patriots, alongside the great Randy Moss. This would be an awesome combination and if anyone can make it work, it would be the Patriots. When they took in Randy Moss, he also had a reputation as a trouble maker, which he has toned down significantly since his early days in the league.

What I find most interesting about Owens is that while it can certainly be understood why some league owners might be hesitant to sign him, it's not clear what he's done to deserve the reputation he's been given. He's never, to my knowledge, been arrested. He's never been sanctioned by the league, been caught in a late night brawl in a strip club, or had some other kind of crazy, criminalized incident. He's just been convicted of being an arrogant guy, which can sometimes result in being treated like a criminal by the American public.

Don't get me wrong, I am not sure if there are private rumblings around the league as to why TO is not a good teammate. All the while, we cannot rule out typical misperceptions of black male athletes as a probable cause of his prolonged unemployment. The truth is that since the days of Jack Johnson, the black male athlete has been at risk of being perceived as being cocky and not knowing his place. You saw a perfect example of this last week, when Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert publicly chastised LeBron James and called him a bad role model for choosing to play in a city other than Cleveland.

The bottom line on Terrell Owens is this: It's not clear if he is unemployed for legitimate reasons or because of a standard black male athlete bias that has always existed in professional sports. Typically, at least once a year, some black male athlete is held before America as public enemy number one, either because of a questionable personal decision or because the public has just decided that he was a bad person.

This highly paternalistic, self-righteous way of evaluating our public figures tends to lead to black male athletes being perceived as having a monopoly on ignorant, ridiculous behavior. The activities of athletes like Ben Roethlisberger (who's been sanctioned by the league after two serious rape accusations) show us that many athletes make mistakes, not just the black ones.

I am honestly not sure if I'd hire Terrell Owens to play on my team or not. On one hand, the talent is undeniable. On the other hand, he is getting older and hasn't really had the numbers he used to have. While I cannot guarantee that Owens is still a Pro Bowl caliber wide receiver, I can almost completely guarantee that he is good enough to be in the league. To leave TO on the sidelines with less capable players on the field would be a huge mistake.

At the same time, TO must learn some degree of humility in order to prove himself to be the kind of teammate that people need him to be. A little PR help wouldn't hurt him either, since his public image is in the toilet right now. Either way, he deserves a chance, and I hope he gets that chance before it's too late.





Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the Athlete Liberation and Academic Reform Movement (ALARM). To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.