Flamboyant Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens attempted suicide by overdosing on pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
A police report says that Terrell Owens was hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Ed Werder and ESPN Radio 103.3's Jennifer Engel give the latest news and early reaction from Dallas.
A Dallas police report released Wednesday morning said Owens told a friend "that he was depressed." The report was first released by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
The friend attempted to pry them out with her fingers, then was told by Owens that before this incident he'd taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied. Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
KTVT-TV in Dallas reported that a woman named "Etheridge", likely his publicist Kim Etheridge, called police at 7:51 p.m. to report a suicide attempt. KTVT-TV reported that Owens ingested 35 pills.
T.O. timeline
OwensTerrell Owens' reported suicide attempt is just the latest bizarre twist in his tumultuous NFL career.
To see a timeline of some notable lowlights in his career, click here.
Owens left the hospital early this morning, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. A hospital spokeswoman told The Associated Press early Wednesday there was no patient registered as Terrell Owens, although federal privacy laws allow people to block their name from being released.
Lt. Rick Watson, the Dallas police public information officer, would neither confirm nor deny details of the report but said there was no criminal case pending. The Cowboys have called a 2:30 p.m. ET news conference.
Owens' publicist and agent, and the Cowboys, did not return repeated calls from The Associated Press. No teammates or Cowboys officials were seen entering the hospital late Tuesday night.
Owens was taken to the emergency room Tuesday night. A source close to Owens had told ESPN's Ed Werder early Wednesday morning that Owens was suffering an adverse reaction to painkillers taken for treatment of his fractured hand.
"This is not serious," Etheridge said in Wednesday's online edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, before news of the reported suicide attempt was released.
A report earlier Tuesday stated that Owens would practice with the team Wednesday and possibly play Sunday at Tennessee, but his availability this week and beyond is now uncertain.
Owens
Owens fractured the fourth metacarpal bone in the Cowboys' victory over the Washington Redskins and underwent surgery on Sept. 18. The next day, a plate was screwed in, protecting the bone so it can heal without further damage.
Cowboys coach Bill Parcells mentioned in a press conference shortly thereafter that pain medication had made Owens ill, apparently making this the second time he has had an adverse reaction. The incident that sent him to the hospital Tuesday night apparently occurred sometime after Owens took medication after catching passes at the Cowboys' facility on Tuesday.
With the Cowboys having had a bye last weekend, it was thought that Owens could return without having missed a game. Before Wednesday's developments, Owens said he would play Oct. 8, when he gets to face his former team, the Eagles, in Philadelphia.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Edited by Big Calm (09/27/06 08:25 AM)
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