The Owens Doctrine: Don't ask, but tell anyway

A new chapter from the best seller How Not to Win Friends and Influence People by Terrell Owens:

The ex-49er -- now Philadelphia Eagle -- wide receiver was asked in an upcoming Playboy interview whether former teammate Jeff Garcia, now quarterbacking the Cleveland Browns, is gay. (In case you're wondering from where in left field that question was lobbed in, the issue was a constant source of media speculation and pseudo-insider scuttlebutt throughout Garcia's tenure with the Niners.)

Here's the response from Owens, one of professional sports' leading sufferers from hoof-in-mouth disease: "Like my boy tells me: "If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, by golly, it is a rat."

When Garcia bridled at the reported comment, Owens had this to say: "My thing was I didn't say that he was gay. Like I said, the conversation and interview was loose and from my knowledge I'm not sure if Jeff is gay or not."

So, the question is, T.O., why even address the subject? If someone asked me if an associate of mine was gay, I'd tell them, "Why ask me? If you think it's your business, have enough gumption to go to the source, and ask the person directly." Instead, Owens chose to answer the question in such a way that the clear subtext is, "Yeah, he's gay, but I don't want to say it in so many words." If Owens really isn't sure if Garcia is gay, why the innuendo? Or at the very least, how about giving the guy the benefit of the doubt: "I don't know, but I don't have any reason to believe he's gay."

Then again, if you consent to be interviewed in Playboy -- hardly a bastion of serious journalism -- what does that say about you?