Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Terrell Owens Fires Kim Etheredge; Harsh Words



The report reads...

Terrell Owens fired his publicist, Kim Etheredge, last week. The two had some harsh words over the last few weeks.

Etheredge didn't want Owens to do a ESPN interview with Michael Irvin, but he did it anyway. She also didn't want a NFL Network interview with T.O. following the Atlanta game, but he did it.

Owens had tuned Etheredge out over the last few months and it all came to a head last week.

Etheredge accepted the firing with dignity but wouldn't talk about it Sunday. T.O. said it was a business decision and nothing personal.

Etheredge is hopeful to get other clients. She is good friends with Cowboys linebacker Kevin Burnett (she even baby sat his kids), and she's cool with Akin Ayodele.


But what it doesn't say is how she came to Owens rescue last year when he took more than the required does of either pills or some combination of meds that had him so dizzy some believed he was trying to take his own life. For a reminder, let's turn to Wikipedia:

A police report filed on the night of September 26[7] seemed to confirm the attempt, saying that Owens' publicist, Kim Etheridge, found him unresponsive with an empty bottle of pain killers, pried two pills from his mouth, and called 9-1-1, after which an ambulance transported him four blocks from his Deep Ellum condo to the hospital.

According to the police report, Owens and Etheridge both said he was depressed, and Owens answered "yes" when asked whether he had intended to harm himself. Owens' publicist, however, refuted the report, stating that Owens had suffered an allergic reaction to the medication combined with a dietary supplement. ESPN reported that about half the police report was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose."

Owens left the hospital later on September 27. At a news conference after his release, Owens denied having made a suicide attempt, stating that he expected to join the team for practice the next morning. He stated that he was "not depressed" and was "very happy to be here," and denied that doctors had pumped his stomach, calling speculation to that effect "definitely untrue."[9] The press conference took place after Owens had run routes and caught passes with the Cowboys' at the team's practice facility in Valley Ranch.

Owens' publicist lashed out at the police and said they took advantage of him. Notably, Owens himself made no such statements, and at his press conference praised both the police and medical personnel who treated him.


I would think that's worth something, but it seems that it is not. I don't know what really went down between him so I'm not going to come to a snap judgment. But as I think about it, Terrell now has a chance to get a real good PR person, the only question is, wiill he listen to that person.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:26 PM

    Great she is fired. Now T.O. can start playing some football. Everyone knows that publicists make you drop passes. My public relations person ruined me at my mail-carrier job. She would try to protect me and call 911 and save my life and stuff, and that would make me so mad... her stupid help started making me drop mail. In fact publicity people are at the root of all dropped cell phone calls. They are so evil! Great T.O. I knew your bad performance wasn't your fault.

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  2. Anonymous8:23 AM

    Ummm..she might have saved his image last year..but..thats what he was paying her for...and I'm sure it was a pretty enough penny to make it worth her trouble...As for saving his life...thats one thing that he should be grateful for, but maybe he should hire her back as a life or bodyguard or something. Just because she saves his life he keeps her on as a publicist eve if he doesnt like the job she's doing? C'mon people.

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