Editor’s note; The following column from the Best of West collection was originally published in the Port Arthur News on Oct. 4, 2000.

Terrell Owens did much more than tick off Emmitt Smith, George Teague and Dallas Cowboys fans with his in-your-face statement on the Cowboys star 10 days ago at Texas Stadium. Owens’ actions not only got him a one-game suspension, it triggered a national dialogue that, for the most part, splits along generational lines.

Most folks over 30, including Owens’ teammate Jerry Rice, denounced him for crossing the line of acceptable behavior. NFL veterans were especially critical of Owens for going out of his way to taunt and disrespect fellow athletes on their home field. Older fans say it’s one more reason they are tuning out of professional sports.

Younger athletes and fans, however, saw the matter in a different light. Owens was seen as “doing his thing,” as expressing showmanship rather than showboating. Players like Arizona’s Simeon Rice and Tampa Bay’s Warren Sapp hailed Owens for being creative. Simeon Rice said he talked to several players who felt Owens’ act was “taking the NFL to the next level.”

The NFL’s official position, meanwhile, was to berate the actions, stomp its foot and give a pious appearance. But you wonder how much the big cigars truly disliked Owens bringing all the extra attention to a sport which is wringing its hands over legions of younger viewers defecting from Monday Night Football to bizarre and over-the-edge Monday night wrestling.

Bear in mind, a new professional football league, funded by wrestling guru Vince McMahon, starts up next spring. McMahon has promised to incorporate into the XFL many of the crude tactics that have made the WWF and WCW so appealing to the younger set. It’s going to be football with an attitude. The kind of attitude, in fact, we saw from Terrell Owens.

So the NFL seems to be caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. On the one hand, it hears from critics who insists NFL stands for No Fun League because players are already too restricted. On the other hand, there is documentation many, many long time followers absolutely detest all the player hijinks.

One of those not pleased with what he’s seeing is former Houston Oiler coach Bum Phillips. Phillips, known as a players’ coach, used to get a kick out of what may have been the NFL’s first end-zone-dance routine — the “Funky Chicken” of Houston kick returner Billy “White Shoes” Johnson. Yet his reaction to Owens was utter disgust.

“I don’t think you go around trying to make a fool of the guys on the other team,” he said. “What Owens did was ridiculous. I liked the way Earl Campbell acted when he scored a touchdown. He handed the ball to the official and ran back to his teammates. But, to be truthful, I didn’t have a problem with what Billy Johnson did.

“I had never seen anything like that when he did it the first time, and I don’t think anybody else had either. Since he was the only one doing it, nobody seemed to get upset. Before long, however, everybody was doing something and it kind of got out of control.. Looking back, I wish the league had taken a strong stand against all of it, even Billy’s dance.”

What bothers Phillips most about the NFL not taking a strong stand against antics like Owens’ is the impression being made on players high school age and younger.

“Some kids see that and think it’s cool,” he pointed out. “Those guys are their heroes. If they watch an NFL star show up an opponent, they are at least going to think about doing it themselves. Sportsmanship is taking a beating. I fear that all this has gone so far it’s never going to be reversed.

“Even if the NFL wanted to take a strong stand, it would have a fight from the players association.”

Another retired coach who shares Phillips’ concern about the impact of preening pros on young athletes is Lincoln basketball legend James Gamble.

“I don’t know where all of this is leading, but I know it’s not good for young people to be seeing it, “ Gamble said. “I have to wonder what these professional leagues want. Are they trying to make it a show, instead of a plain old football or basketball game. Are showmanship and individual achievements more important than winning or losing?

“To be honest, I’ve seen worse than what Owens did. The leagues stop a few little things, but they let so many other things slide. The young guys in professional sports can do almost anything now, if they can play. I blame the leagues for that, because they haven’t drawn the line. Maybe they don’t want to draw the line.”

Despite the outside influences from the pros, Gamble still thinks high school coaches can control what happens in their own programs.

“A high school coach is supposed to run his program like he wants to,” said the recent Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee. “You can keep kids fro doing things they see the pros doing. Your program has to be build around standards. If a kid can’t abide by those standards, you move on. After a while, you get the best kids.”

Unfortunately the NFL has a different set of standards, driven by greed, power and TV ratings. That’s why you get a Daniel Snyder, a Dennis Miller, a Terrell Owens and ultimately the kind of turnoff that reminds fans the best game to watch is the one played by the high school kids.”

Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at rdwest@usa.net.