Owens dismisses trainer who revealed private struggles
By MICHAEL GRANBERRY / The Dallas Morning News
James "Buddy" Primm, Terrell Owens' personal trainer, said Thursday that the Cowboys wide receiver had relieved him of his services and was no longer speaking to him.
In a telephone conversation with The Dallas Morning News, Mr. Owens acknowledged as much and said Mr. Primm "had no business" discussing details of his private life with the news media.
Mr. Primm, 55, said Wednesday that Mr. Owens had been distraught over not being able to see his son, who celebrated his 7th birthday Monday. Hours later, he said, the receiver's fiancée, a woman he had dated for three years, ended their engagement.
"He shouldn't have been telling you anything about my personal life anyway," Mr. Owens said. "That's where it stops – right there. He should have never said anything remotely involving me or my personal life, especially my son or even my ex-girl."
A resident of Georgia, where Mr. Owens makes his off-season home, Mr. Primm began training the wide receiver seven years ago, when Mr. Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers.
He says he cares deeply for Mr. Owens and loves him like a son, one whose fatherless childhood took place in abject poverty in rural Alabama and who was raised by his mother and grandmother. Mr. Owens apparently went for years without knowing that a man who lived on his street was his father.
Provide structure
"The background that I've had," Mr. Primm said Wednesday, "it's enabled me to take a very special person who, if he stays within a structure, would be able to accomplish anything. I believe I'm one of the people who can help provide that structure."
As for playing the role of a father figure, he said, "There's never been one there. ... My thing is helping other people. I enjoy that. I'm a Christian. It gives me a feeling of fulfillment. I like to do the best I can and be the very best at it."
Mr. Primm calls his style "hands-on and personal." Until recently, he had been living with Mr. Owens at Mr. Owens' newly purchased loft in the shadow of Fair Park.
Mr. Owens said Mr. Primm was inexperienced in dealing with the news media.
'Can't trust nobody'
"He is a victim of what I have fallen victim to over the course of my career," Mr. Owens said. "He shouldn't have said anything about my personal life – period. Now I really have to be guarded as far as who I talk to. If I can't trust my own trainer, I can't trust nobody."
Kim Etheredge, Mr. Owens' publicist who, on occasion, also shares Mr. Owens' home, called 911 on Tuesday when Mr. Owens had accidentally overdosed – which led police to believe he had attempted suicide.
After a rigorous workout Tuesday, Mr. Owens said he downed several prescription pain pills for the hand he injured this month, despite having consumed 30 tablets – natural supplements supplied by Mr. Primm – earlier that day.
As a trainer, Mr. Primm is widely regarded as one of the best in the business. He helped Mr. Owens heal rapidly from a broken leg in 2004 and play only weeks later in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Mr. Primm says the receiver's recovery was aided by a battery of new-age devices he introduced to the athlete. They include a $40,000 laser designed to stimulate blood flow to injured parts of the body. He also uses a hyperbaric chamber and a microcurrent machine.
Mr. Owens has counted on Mr. Primm not only to sculpt his body but also to help him overcome a series of injuries. When Mr. Owens pulled his hamstring during Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, Calif., he flew in Mr. Primm to oversee his rehabilitation.
And his approach has worked well enough to enable the wide receiver to play as early as this Sunday, Mr. Primm said. The Cowboys will travel to Nashville to face the Tennessee Titans.
James "Buddy" Primm, Terrell Owens' personal trainer, said Thursday that the Cowboys wide receiver had relieved him of his services and was no longer speaking to him.
In a telephone conversation with The Dallas Morning News, Mr. Owens acknowledged as much and said Mr. Primm "had no business" discussing details of his private life with the news media.
Mr. Primm, 55, said Wednesday that Mr. Owens had been distraught over not being able to see his son, who celebrated his 7th birthday Monday. Hours later, he said, the receiver's fiancée, a woman he had dated for three years, ended their engagement.
"He shouldn't have been telling you anything about my personal life anyway," Mr. Owens said. "That's where it stops – right there. He should have never said anything remotely involving me or my personal life, especially my son or even my ex-girl."
A resident of Georgia, where Mr. Owens makes his off-season home, Mr. Primm began training the wide receiver seven years ago, when Mr. Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers.
He says he cares deeply for Mr. Owens and loves him like a son, one whose fatherless childhood took place in abject poverty in rural Alabama and who was raised by his mother and grandmother. Mr. Owens apparently went for years without knowing that a man who lived on his street was his father.
Provide structure
"The background that I've had," Mr. Primm said Wednesday, "it's enabled me to take a very special person who, if he stays within a structure, would be able to accomplish anything. I believe I'm one of the people who can help provide that structure."
As for playing the role of a father figure, he said, "There's never been one there. ... My thing is helping other people. I enjoy that. I'm a Christian. It gives me a feeling of fulfillment. I like to do the best I can and be the very best at it."
Mr. Primm calls his style "hands-on and personal." Until recently, he had been living with Mr. Owens at Mr. Owens' newly purchased loft in the shadow of Fair Park.
Mr. Owens said Mr. Primm was inexperienced in dealing with the news media.
'Can't trust nobody'
"He is a victim of what I have fallen victim to over the course of my career," Mr. Owens said. "He shouldn't have said anything about my personal life – period. Now I really have to be guarded as far as who I talk to. If I can't trust my own trainer, I can't trust nobody."
Kim Etheredge, Mr. Owens' publicist who, on occasion, also shares Mr. Owens' home, called 911 on Tuesday when Mr. Owens had accidentally overdosed – which led police to believe he had attempted suicide.
After a rigorous workout Tuesday, Mr. Owens said he downed several prescription pain pills for the hand he injured this month, despite having consumed 30 tablets – natural supplements supplied by Mr. Primm – earlier that day.
As a trainer, Mr. Primm is widely regarded as one of the best in the business. He helped Mr. Owens heal rapidly from a broken leg in 2004 and play only weeks later in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Mr. Primm says the receiver's recovery was aided by a battery of new-age devices he introduced to the athlete. They include a $40,000 laser designed to stimulate blood flow to injured parts of the body. He also uses a hyperbaric chamber and a microcurrent machine.
Mr. Owens has counted on Mr. Primm not only to sculpt his body but also to help him overcome a series of injuries. When Mr. Owens pulled his hamstring during Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, Calif., he flew in Mr. Primm to oversee his rehabilitation.
And his approach has worked well enough to enable the wide receiver to play as early as this Sunday, Mr. Primm said. The Cowboys will travel to Nashville to face the Tennessee Titans.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:22 AM
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