Antonio Brown: 'I Really Wish I Could Get' Terrell Owens to Go to Hall of Fame

Antonio Brown understands why Terrell Owens isn't attending his Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He just wishes the receiver he grew up idolizing would change his mind. 

"I can never tell someone what to do. Obviously, T.O. felt he was [being snubbed] for a couple years. All in all, T.O. has done some amazing things around the NFL—he’s inspired so many people around the NFL. I really wish I could get T.O. to go to the Hall of Fame and deliver his speech, and make the kids like myself and the people around the world who look up to him proud," Brown told Bleacher Report in an interview promoting his appearance on the Madden 19 cover.

"Every player’s goal is to get those Super Bowls and to get to Hall of Fame, and for him to accomplish his goals and to get that yellow jacket, it would be an honor for him to go out there and give a speech and give people a dosage of his mentality. How hard he works, how he’s wired and how he’s built—see him the other week on Instagram running a 4.4 in the 40. That’s the type of character he is and how he’s wired. It would be amazing for him to go get his yellow jacket and deliver a motivational speech, and let people know how he feels."

Owens was voted into the 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame class in February. He was snubbed in both 2016 and 2017 despite sitting second in NFL history in receiving yards, third in receiving touchdowns and eighth in receptions. The back-to-back snubs were perceived—both by fans and Owens—as being related to his brash on-field persona.

Owens announced he would not be attending August's induction ceremony last month.

"After visiting Canton earlier this year, I came to the realization that I wish to celebrate what will be one of the most memorable days of my life, elsewhere," Owens said in a statement released by his publicist. 

Instead, Owens is hosting his own celebration at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, on the same night as the Hall of Fame induction in Canton.

“I have realized just how much I want to celebrate what will inevitably be the best weekend of my life at a place that means so much to me,” Owens said in a statement. 

Brown and Owens are set to share the Madden 19 cover, with the former gracing the standard edition and the latter on the Hall of Fame edition. Brown said it was an "honor" to share the cover with Owens and cited him as an inspiration growing up. 

"It means everything to share this with T.O., a guy that inspired me to play the game at a high level, a guy who exemplifies so much confidence in this game, a guy who played the game the right way and played at a high level for a long time. It’s extremely an honor to share with Terrell Owens, another Hall of Fame wide receiver," Brown said. 

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has said it will not publicly honor Owens during its ceremony as a result of him declining to attend the event.