The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2017 was announced the night before Super Bowl 51 during the 6th annual NFL Honors, and for the second straight year, Terrell Owens, did not have his name called.

     This has sparked controversy due to the fact that Owens is clearly one of the greatest wide receivers the NFL has ever seen. He always passed the eyeball test on the field and his numbers backed up the fact that he not only deserves to be in, but deserved to be in last year as a first ballot inductee.

     Owens ranks second all time in receiving yards and third all time in receiving touchdowns and he played for five NFL teams throughout his 15 year career. The reason many believe he has not yet been inducted is not because of his numbers, but because of his personality off the field.

     Owens is known for arguing with teammates and coaches constantly, calling out his quarterback Donovan McNabb during his time with the Eagles, and never getting along with members of the media. Many like to say that Owens was, “A cancer in the locker room,” and that reputation still haunts him today.

     The problem for Owens is that members of the media are the ones with the right to vote on who gets inducted into the hall. This creates the problem.

     However the hall of fame is not a popularity contest, it is about who deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest players of all time due to their performances and accomplishments on the football field. That is the nucleus of the whole controversy.

     Stephen A. Smith has been a sports reporter for 24 years and counting and had a strong opinion on the matter. He shared his thoughts on ESPN’s First Take the morning after Super Bowl 51.

     “Not only should he be in the hall of fame, it’s an embarrassment, it’s a disgrace that he wasn’t in the hall of fame, and as far as i’m concerned the 48 voters that had a say in it should be ashamed of themselves,” Smith said. “The media should be ashamed of themselves.”

     This goes back to the point of the hall of fame not being a popularity contest. Many feel that the members of the media that vote for the hall of fame are letting their personal feelings of Owens get in the way and therefore they are using their power as voters to purposely keep Owens out of the hall.

     “At the end, what is paramount, is that somebody’s accomplishments, in a meritocracy, that is supposed to be this country and this sports world, you’re supposed to shove all of your personal feelings aside and recognize what somebody has done, and the fact that that has been ignored because he is not liked, as far as i’m concerned the media should turn in their card, they cannot be trusted.” Smith said. “I don’t even think they should be aloud to vote on the hall of fame anymore after this, this is a disgrace.”

     Owens himself even went to Twitter on the day that the hall of fame inductees were announced and he was not happy.

     “Unfortunately I DID NOT MAKE IT again this year. Thanks to ALL my fans & supporters. #FlawedProcess,” Owens tweeted.

     Owens’ accomplishments on the field indicate that he deserves to be a hall of famer. It seems that he will eventually get in, the only question that remains is how long the voters will keep him out. Now we have to wait and see.