Who Is Kim Etheredge?

The central figure in the Terrell Owens did-he-or-didn't-he-attempt-suicide kerfuffle isn't Owens -- he was mostly a bystander, by all accounts. No, the central figure is Kim Etheredge, the publicist who was quoted in the police report as saying she thought Owens was trying to kill himself, and is now saying nothing could be further from the truth. Deadspin is all over this, and says the question boils down to: "Is Kim Etheredge the worst publicist of all time, or is she merely a decent human being?"

I can't answer that here. But let's try to explore a little bit more about who Etheredge is. First, this is hardly the first time she's been in a position where she was trying to explain away some bizarre aspect of Owens' life. In July, when reports surfaced that Owens was complaining that he was misquoted in his own autobiography, Etheredge was there to deny Owens had ever said such a thing. When asked why Owens was selling his $4.4 million mansion, Etheredge responded, "Fifteen thousand square feet is a lot for one person." When asked about Owens' birthday party last year, Etheredge said, "It's a party. It's a celebration of another year of life." (I guess that quote was supplied for all the people who are unfamiliar with the concept of a birthday party.) One article says Etheredge treats Owens more like a younger brother than like a client.

Etheredge is also apparently an entrepreneur who created a hair-care product called Mixed Chicks, which is aimed at women who have a hard-to-manage combination of straight and curly hair. So she's got that to fall back on if she really is the worst publicist of all time.