It was only a matter of time before Donovan McNabb was asked to weigh in on the latest Terrell Owens-driven controversy, and he had a message for Owens during a Friday interview with WMVP-AM in Chicago: You're an adult; you can say what you want.
The latest tiff between the two ex-teammates began when Owens said during an interview in February's GQ Magazine that then-Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter told Owens not to apologize specifically to McNabb for saying the quarterback got winded during the fourth quarter of their Super Bowl loss to the Patriots -- a claim Trotter denied.
"I was a team leader as well," McNabb told the radio station. "The whole thing about it is we're grown men. You say what you want to say. If this letter was written for you and you're supposed to say it, why are you showing it to other teammates? ... If you're a grown man you're going to do what you want to do."
To his credit, McNabb did not appear to be annoyed or mad at Owens. Instead, he opined on the unfortunate nature of their intertwined careers.
"It's unfortunate here's a guy who's a future Hall of Famer, had an outstanding career now playing in the arena league -- whatever it may be," McNabb said. "And my name still comes up out of his mouth or whatever. We'll forever kind of be linked together somehow -- it's unfortunate."
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McNabb went on: "It was a remarkable season, it's unfortunate what happened. I've moved on and everything that has been talked about in this article about him not apologizing to me. Nobody wanted to talk about it while it was happening. ... I talked to him but some people it's like talking to just a wall, you don't get a response, and now I see why there was no apology back to me."
At the end of the interview McNabb was asked if he'd consider joining the Chicago Bears as a backup quarterback if the team's new general manager approached him. McNabb did not say definitively if he'd be intrigued about a stint with his hometown team.
"That I don't know," McNabb said. "There's a lot of things you've got to look into."
