Michael Ventre

What the world doesn’t need now is another T.O.

It may be an exaggeration to say that Donovan McNabb is becoming the man he loathes, but he seems to be inching toward that. If he doesn’t watch out, soon he may be autographing footballs with Sharpies during games, stomping on opposing teams’ logos and doing sit-ups for the media in his driveway.

He could even – gulp! – hire Drew Rosenhaus, which would lead to the end of his relationship with the Philadelphia Eagles and also would probably sever all ties with the Chunky Soup people.

On Wednesday, McNabb was offered a T.O. moment. Instead of handling it like Donovan McNabb, he handled it like Terrell Owens. That’s not good. The T.O. school of public relations dedicates itself to scorching earth and riling the populace. Traditionally that hasn’t been McNabb’s bailiwick, but maybe he has a long-range plan to get suspended so he can eventually play elsewhere.

In an interview with ESPN, McNabb was asked about his much-publicized problems with T.O. What McNabb should have said was something like this: “It was a tough situation, but I think everybody involved learned a lot and I hope we’ll all become better people for it. I wish him the best.” If pressed by the questioner, McNabb should have replied: “It was a tough situation, but I think everybody involved learned a lot and I hope we’ll all become better people for it. I wish him the best.”

The old Donovan McNabb would have said that, or an approximation thereof. He wouldn’t have taken the bait and allowed old wounds to fester in public. He would have shown class, moved on and talked about his hopes for leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl title next year.

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But obviously the T.O. situation has hurt him to such an extent that he threw away his good judgment and dignity and decided to mud-wrestle through the media in order settle a score. That’s beneath the McNabb everybody knows and trusts.

Of course, who knows? Maybe this is the real McNabb.

Of particular note is McNabb’s comment about T.O.’s assertion last year, also in an ESPN interview, that the Eagles would have been in a better situation if they had had Brett Favre at quarterback rather than McNabb.

Said McNabb in Wednesday’s interview: “It was like, it’s unreal. That’s like me going out and saying, ‘Hey, if we had Steve Largent. If we had Joe Jurevicius. It was definitely a slap in the face to me. It was a slap in the face because, as deep as people want to go into it, it was black-on-black crime.”

Huh?

McNabb is a smart guy. He must have known how “black-on-black crime” was going to sound in relation to his rhubarb with T.O. when dispensed to the national media. Any suggestion of race in sports gets more publicity than an ESPN made-for-TV movie. When you add the Owens-McNabb history, it’s a full-blown conflagration.

What is more significant, however, is McNabb’s inability to put it all behind him. I would have thought he would be the perfect candidate to do just that. He’s intelligent, appreciative of his standing in the sports world and respectful of others. He also seems strong and confident and not a person susceptible to the hurtful salvos of a loose cannon.

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But clearly, McNabb wants everyone to know he is still pained by the nightmare that was last season, much of which was created by Owens. McNabb is lashing out because he has unfinished business, which is disappointing. This business should have been over a long time ago.

He also isn’t doing anything to restore his standing as team leader. He also whined to the Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday about some of the players who sided with T.O. during the brouhaha and who expressed their wishes that the Eagles bring him back, the most prominent of which was linebacker Jeremiah Trotter.