Coach & Player Magazine Summer 2017 | Page 8

I’M STILL ME Story by Chris Franklin Photos by Arthur St. John T.O. People who have followed the National Football League for a while know those letters. They conjure up memories of acrobatic catches and touchdown celebrations. The letters also bring to mind controversies and post-game press conferences. No matter what side of the fence people are on, there’s no denying that Terrell Owens is one of the best receivers to have ever played in the NFL. So, what is someone who amassed 16,000 receptions and 153 career touchdowns doing now? He is playing a different position: entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs have many different reasons why they choose to start the business they create. For Owens, his passion comes from the same source that helped him during his football career. “My family is my passion. They are what keeps me going,” he said. “This [business] is something that my mom wanted to do when she was younger. She’s been living vicariously through me. She wanted to do everything that I’ve done as a professional and football has afforded me to do those things. She wanted to be on the big screen and to be on TV. She also wanted to be a model. She wanted to do all these things but having kids at an early age prevented her from achieving some of her goals. She was a kid having kids. She had no choice but to sacrifice her dreams to make ends meet for myself and the rest of my sisters and brothers. People understand that my family, including my kids, mean the world to me.” With his mother, Marilyn, having to work multiple jobs and his father not around, Terrell spent a lot of time with his grandmother, Alice. 8 www.coachandplayer.com