The police report, which WFAA shared with the AP, said Etheredge saw Owens pop two more pills, then “attempted to put her fingers in (Owens’) mouth to retrieve the pills.”

“I did not take anything out of his mouth,” said Etheredge, equally adamant in denying that she told anyone Owens was depressed.

The report also lists Owens as saying, “Yes,” when asked whether he’d emptied the pill bottle and whether he was trying to harm himself. He said he doesn’t know what he told emergency responders.

“I was kind of out of it,” Owens said. “I can barely even remember the doctors, more or less the police officers that were asking me questions. I couldn’t tell you if they were the EMTs or the police or the doctors.”

Etheredge also accused police of taking advantage of her friend and client.

“I’m just upset,” she said. “Had this been someone else, this may not have happened.”

Dallas police officials declined to comment on Etheredge’s denials, citing privacy laws.

Teammates and friends throughout the league rallied to support Owens even before he spoke. Many, including Dallas quarterback Drew Bledsoe, said they doubted that Owens would try to kill himself.

“Because of the reputation that T.O. has because of the attention that has been around him in the past, anything that happens turns into a bigger deal,” Bledsoe said Wednesday. “I understand that. We understand that as a team.”

Former Cowboys star Deion Sanders was with Owens at his home before he went to team headquarters.

“From my understanding, looking at him in the eye as a man and as a big brother, I said ‘Be straight up with me.’ He seems to be OK,” Sanders told the NFL Network, where he works as an analyst.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. He broke the bone leading to his right ring finger against Washington a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage, leaving a 2-inch scar on top of his hand.

The Cowboys were still listing Owens as questionable on the injury report because of the hand injury. If he doesn’t play this weekend, No. 81 will almost surely be in the starting lineup the following Sunday in Philadelphia: He’s been looking forward to that game as a chance to seek revenge against the team that dumped him midway through last season.

Owens has almost always been an attention magnet during his 11-year NFL career, from his touchdown celebrations to his public treatment of quarterbacks — even a risque promotional stunt with one of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” before a Monday night game against Dallas in 2004 that prompted an apology from the network.

Months after Owens was heavily praised for playing in the February 2005 Super Bowl just weeks after ankle surgery, his relationship with quarterback Donovan McNabb deteriorated and the Eagles got rid of him amid contract complaints and other personality squabbles.

The Cowboys were eager to welcome him to the fold. By way of explaining why Owens would never attempt to kill himself, Etheredge referred to his Cowboys paycheck.

“Terrell has 25 million reasons,” she said, “why he should be alive.”

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