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According to a report by Yahoo! Sports columnist Michael Silver, the real reason why Terrell Owens was jettison in Dallas was because the team didn’t think quarterback Tony Romo could be a leader with T.O. in the locker room.

Yes, it has plenty to do with Tony Romo(notes). Absolutely, Owens’ penchant for being a major pain in the ass played a role. And, as most of us have suspected, this did come down to his effect on team chemistry. Oddly enough, however, T.O.’s popularity in the Cowboys’ locker room is precisely why he was asked to clear out his belongings.

The bottom line, team executive vice president Stephen Jones said Thursday, is that he and his father came to this conclusion: For the team’s highly paid quarterback to become a truly influential leader, the big man on campus had to be jettisoned.

“It’s hard to take over leadership when you’ve got a strong personality like Terrell,” Jones said.

“If you look back at our old teams [from the 1990s], a lot of people would say maybe Michael [Irvin] was the leader. Then you might say, ‘He was a receiver. What about Troy [Aikman]? He was the quarterback. Wasn’t he the leader?’ And the answer is, yeah, Troy was a leader. But if Michael wasn’t supportive of him, Troy would’ve had problems.

“A lot of our players thought the world of Terrell – they still do. They loved the way he prepared and how hard he played, and everybody respected his skills and what he’d done in the league. And with him here, I think he was always going to carry that kind of weight.”

What must be frustrating for the Cowboys is that, as the article notes, T.O. is a hard worker. As a football player, it’s hard to find someone who works harder at the craft than Owens. Don’t forget, we’re not talking about a young player here – Owens is 35-years old. He’s at an age where most receivers are lucky to find a role as a slot receiver and T.O. is still a viable No. 1.

But the problem is that when things go from great to bad, Owens turns into a cockroach and invests the locker room. He simply can’t lead when it matters most and worse yet, he creates a hurdle that his teammates must overcome. It would be one thing if he couldn’t lead. It’s quite another when he becomes a distraction for others like Romo, who eventually need to be leaders when things go bad.

Either way, T.O. is gone and Romo is out of excuses. He’s already proven that he’s a good quarterback – now he has to show that he’s a great quarterback. It’s his team and he has to grasp the opportunity that’s in front of him.