Terrell Owens, despite ranking top three all-time in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, was not admitted into Canton this year as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
His antics on and off the field were part of the discussion.
One of Owens' more notorious on-field moments was when he twice stood on the Dallas Cowboys' star at midfield after touchdowns during a game with the 49ers in 2000.
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Continuing to react to the Hall of Fame snub, the former 49ers wide receiver defended his decision that day to stand on the star.
"It had nothing to do with me trying to taunt my opponent, had nothing to do with me trying to taunt the Cowboys," Owens said this week on ESPN radio with Mike Golic.
[RELATED: Owens reacts to Hall of Fame: Issues aside, 'I was an automatic shoo-in']
"It's a rivalry, San Francisco, Cowboys ... Texas Stadium, there’s a hole in the top of the building. They said, 'That's America’s Team, God’s looking down on America's Team.' My coach was like, 'Yo' - he motivated me - 'This is what this is about. Go to the star, give your thanks to God, because he's watching down on this game, and show him who’s the best player today.'
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"And that's what I did. It had nothing to do with me taunting my opponent," Owens, who later played for the Cowboys from 2006-2008, added. "But the media, that’s what they say it is."
His comments are consistent what he said in his episode of 'A Football Life' on NFL Network.
[MAIOCCO: Why Terrell Owens was not a first-ballot Hall of Famer]
Most of the voters who were thumbs-down on Owens told CSN Bay Area's Matt Maiocco they were not doing so because of any personal grudge or any perceptions about how he fit into locker rooms. They said they were merely taking the lead from the decision-makers who had Owens on their teams.
The problem with Owens is that five teams got tremendous statistical production out of him in his prime but ultimately decided they were better off without him.
Owens ranks second in NFL history with 15,934 receiving yards, third with 153 receiving touchdowns, and sixth with 1,078 career receptions.
“My numbers speak for itself,” Owens declared. “I’ve never had any off-the-field issues."