Silent during much of the drama created by comments he (allegedly) made to ESPN the Magazine, Dwayne Bowe apparently has former teammate Eddie Kennison speaking out on his behalf.
If you'll recall, Bowe issued a statement to Kennison (and 810 WHB) following his four-game suspension last November for reportedly using a diuretic. Once again, Kennison was involved after a Bowe mishap.
Here's the relevant portion of Kennison's interview on 810 WHB this week:
"I was surprised with the [ESPN the Magazine] article because immediately when I heard it, I called Dwayne and we talked. He said, 'Eddie K, I've never talked to this guy before. I don't know where this is coming from.'
"My question," Kennison continued, "I guess [is] to the writer who wrote the article...he quoted Dwayne in this article and to me that raises the question, if you quoted the guy, then that means the guy said it.
"So that leaves me skeptical whether Dwayne really said it or not. Dwayne said he didn't. I believe Dwayne. I don't know the writer. I'm not saying that it's not true but I believe Dwayne Bowe on it because he told me he did not say it."
Kennison then went on to say that he knew that the comments attributed to Bowe were factually incorrect because the quotes stated there was a girl "in every room" while Kennison claims there was definitely not a girl in every room because there wasn't one in his.
He takes it a step further suggesting the story can't be deemed credible until "at least one girl that's out there that says, 'I was in this room on this particular day in San Diego'."
Look, the contents of the ESPN the Magazine article were released by PFT on May 19th. When the public is watching, 3, 4 or even 5 days is an eternity. If I were misquoted, I'd be screaming from the mountain tops my innocence. Everyone's reaction in this situation has been that he said it. The coach. The team. Everyone.
My guess at what happened, in light of Kennison's story about Bowe's denial, is that the quotes were likely gathered months in advance of the story. This seemed like an article that was just a bunch of various stories beat writers or columnists have picked up recently that don't really fit in any other article. It doesn't seem likely ESPN called the random selection of athletes and pitched the story idea and asked for a quote on it. So maybe when Bowe first heard it, he didn't remember telling the story.
Still, nearly a week later and Kennison relaying (and apparently believing) this story isn't helping Bowe's cause in the court of public opinion. I understand Kennison is defending his former teammate (and friend) but in this particular case I think it's about five days too late.