Earlier this month, former 49ers receiver Terrell Owens earlier was snubbed by Hall of Fame voters for the second straight year, despite having one of the most prodigious careers in history.

Owens, all time, ranks second in yards receiving (15,934), fifth in total touchdowns (156) and eighth in receptions (1,078). Most players with that resume would have been voted in on their first ballot. Owens will have to wait until at least 2018.

Owens hasn’t gotten the votes because of his reputation away from the field, which led to moving teams three times in his prime.

Owens spoke to The Buffalo News writer Tim Graham this week about not getting the votes.

“To me, there’s something bigger than the Hall of Fame,” Owens said. “As I expressed to Michael Irvin, I don’t need the Hall of Fame to validate what I did or who I am. “Obviously, what I did, the Hall of Fame, that should validate it. But now it’s something else. Now they’re adding to the bylaws; they’re adding extra things to the criteria to be inducted.” “For me, that’s where I’ve lost all respect for it, in a sense.”

There’s little doubt Owens was one of the NFL’s premier receivers throughout the majority of his 15-year career. He was named a first-team All-Pro five times and was voted to six Pro Bowls.

“Considering my body of work and what I’ve done on the football field,” Owens said, “that should have been justification for me to have gotten in as a first-ballot Hall of Famer and definitely this year. “I’m not bitter in that regard, but when it comes to questioning my character and what I did in that locker room, the thing what a lot of people are missing is these coaches and these people are saying is I’m this type of person in the locker room. Well, who are those guys? Nobody’s attached any names to anything. They’re just saying, ‘Well, this is what I heard.’ ” Owens later added, “It’s a flawed process. The information they’ve been given is not accurate.”

Graham posted the audio from his interview with Owens, here.