Back in 2015, before his first year of eligibility as a candidate, Terrell Owens said he didn’t care whether he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“I can’t wrap my head around that whole process because it really, literally, doesn’t mean that much to me,” he said at the time. “I understand what I’ve done on the field and it’s probably well deserving of [the Hall], but I’m being honest, it really doesn’t bother me whether I get in or not.”

Owens did finally get in on his third attempt this year, and now he apparently doesn’t care about the ceremony itself: He announced Thursday that he would not be attending the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio.

“I am so grateful for all of the support my family, friends, and certainly my fans, have shown me throughout my entire career in the National Football League,” Owens said in a statement. “When it was announced that I was going to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the response received from my fans was overwhelming, and I am truly humbled. I am honored to be included among this group of fellow inducted individuals.”

“While I am incredibly appreciative of this opportunity, I have made the decision to publicly decline my invitation to attend the induction ceremony in Canton. I have already shared this information with the Hall. After visiting Canton earlier this year, I came to the realization that I wish to celebrate what will be one of the most memorable days of my life, elsewhere. At a later date, I will announce where and when I will celebrate my induction.”

David Baker, CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said in a statement of his own that “we are disappointed but will respect Terrell’s decision not to participate in the enshrinement.” He added that the Hall of Fame would have no further comment on the issue.

Despite his verbal shrug in 2015, Owens did seem to care more about the matter with each of his two snubs. In 2017, he took aim at Hall of Fame wideout Cris Carter, whom Owens said had referred to him as “a flawed candidate.”

“Don’t throw stones when you live in a glass house,” Owens said. “He wants me to wait because he had to wait. I did more with less. I was better than Cris Carter. So he shouldn’t mention anything about anybody, especially me, about being a flawed candidate when here’s a guy who got released, flunked three drug tests from Philly — cocaine and alcohol addiction — and then there was somewhere down the road he’s telling guys to ask somebody to be a fall guy. What kind of character is that? So c’mon man. C’mon.”

Owens’s career numbers — only Jerry Rice has more career receiving yards, and only Rice and Randy Moss have more touchdown catches — should have made him a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but his candidacy was not helped by the fact that voters viewed him as a bad teammate, even though there are inarguably worse teammates who were selected ahead of him.

“But Owens’ inability to stick with the Niners, Eagles, and Cowboys is significant because it goes to the heart of the problem that numerous people with whom I have spoken about him have: He was a horrible teammate,” Vic Carucci, a voter from the Buffalo News, wrote in 2017. “He was a divisive force that the people who ran those teams had no problem cutting loose. I’ve heard critics say there were extenuating contractual circumstances behind Owens’ departures, but I don’t buy that for a second. If you want to keep a player, you find a way to keep him.”

Said voter Gary Myers, then of the New York Daily News, in 2016: “The bottom line on T.O. is, he was so disruptive.”

This year’s Owens-less enshrinement ceremony also will celebrate the careers of Moss, Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher, Brian Dawkins, Bobby Beathard, Jerry Kramer and Robert Brazile.

“I wish to congratulate all past, current and future inductees,” Owens said. “It is quite an honor to be part of such elite company. This honor is something that I will cherish forever.”

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