Owens denies suicide attempt

DALLAS, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens has denied reports he attempted suicide, saying a drug reaction caused his recent hospital stay.

"There was no suicide attempt," Owens said Wednesday at the team's headquarters.

However, the statements by Owens and publicist Kim Etheredge contradict information police said the pair gave them when Owens was taken to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday.

Police reports said statements from Owens and Etheredge led them to the conclusion that the receiver had "ingested (an) unknown large quantity" of pain medication, possibly as many as 35 pills.

"The rumor of me taking 35 pills, I think, is absurd," Owens said. He said the empty pill bottle in his room was due to him moving some of his medication to his home in downtown Dallas.

The player's personal trainer, James Primm, said Wednesday that emotional stress caused Owens' condition. He said Owens' fiancee called off their engagement shortly after the player was prevented from seeing his son on the child's birthday. He said those factors combined to land Owens in the hospital and led to what he called erroneous suicide reports.