Trotter: ‘Seems personal’ why Terrell Owens isn’t in the Hall of Fame

On Saturday, as Denver Broncos fans and its former players alike celebrated the long overdue election of running back Terrell Davis into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his fellow candidate, Terrell Owens, continued his struggle to make the hallowed halls in Canton.

Owens, a finalist in his first two years of eligibility, failed to garner the requisite 80 percent of votes to earn election despite what many categorize as Hall of Fame caliber career statistics.

In his 15-year career, Owens ranks second in NFL History in receiving yards (15,934), third in receiving yards (15,934), and seventh in receptions (1,078).

And if Owens has the Hall of Fame-worthy numbers, ESPN NFL writer Jim Trotter told 104.3 The Fan’s “Schlereth and Evans” something else is afoot.

“With T.O. — I’m just saying from my perspective — it just seems personal. I was a little uncomfortable with some of the discussion, and I didn’t like where it was going,” Trotter, who is on the Hall of Fame selection committee, said.

Trotter said some voters may have made a statement last year in not voting for Owens due to his on-field and off the field attitude and antics, but cautioned using that logic, especially with a similar type of player in Randy Moss coming eligible next year.

“Many people thought some voters were making a statement last year by keeping him out for a year. Now you’ve kept him out another year,” Trotter said. “What are you going to do next year when Randy Moss comes up?”

“… You can look at his body of work and say there were even years if not games and year that he appeared to take off. Are you going to hold that against him? Because if you don’t, then what are you doing with Terrell Owens?”

Trotter said that he voted for Owens and will next year. And if he doesn’t get in, he’ll vote for him the following year.

“I believe strongly that the Hall of Fame is supposed to be about what you did on the field and how you affected the game on the field. And when it comes to that, there are very few players who did it better than Terrell Owens,” Trotter said.

He added: “There are guys in the Hall of Fame who were straight up a-holes, who were bad teammates, who did things that make you shake your head and say, ‘Man, why would anyone want to be associated with him?’ But they were dominant, dominant players, and so they’re in the Hall of Fame.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.