Imagine that you’re a former NFL player and are visiting your college for homecoming when an attorney hands out a legal notice to you. That’s exactly what happened to San Francisco 49ers legend Terrell Owens when he went to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for Homecoming 2026. But little did he know that he’d receive an update on the Nolan Wells defamation lawsuit. 

“Terrell Owens, you’ve been served,” attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik wrote on X after sharing a video of the servers handing out the legal documents to the six-time Pro Bowler. 

“Hey Edward.😂 Not worried.👍🤷,” Owens clapped back on X in response to the service. “God is good.” 

Two days ago, Paltzik took to X and announced that his team had officially served Owens. He noted that Owens never expected process servers to ambush him at his alma mater. Moreover, he noted that Owens struggled to hide his frustration.

“As TO waited to sign autographs and bask in the adulation of his fans at an intimate meet-and-greet in the Mocs Bookstore, he was instead handed a copy of our powerhouse federal defamation suit,” Paltzik wrote in the previous X post, with an attached screenshot showcasing the moment that turned things bad for Owens. “No autograph required. Luck always runs out. Even sunglasses couldn’t hide TO’s disgust.” 

Back in July, 18-year-old Nolan Wells lost his life after a Fourth of July boating trip to Horn Island, Mississippi. After a group photo of Wells alongside three friends, Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo, and Morgan Seymour, went viral online, Owens became convinced that the trio had something to do with Wells’ untimely passing.  

Owens wrote “ARREST THEM IMMEDIATELY!! LIKE YESTERDAY!!” in an X post after putting up a link to the Trent Out Loud Show’s clip. The former 49er further suggested that the three had deleted evidence from Wells’ cellphone. 

The three friends filed a complaint in a district court in Mississippi against Owens. Even the boys’ fathers accused Owens of harming their reputation with the controversial post. After all, the boys were under 21 and are minors as per Mississippi law. 

“Due to the conduct of Owens and many other less-famous individuals, these completely innocent young men have been subjected to thousands of death threats, face-to-face harassment, and daily fear and ridicule from complete strangers,” the complaint against Owens stated, as per The Guardian’s Uwa Ede-Osifo. “They’ve even been refused service at public establishments. Their lives, and the lives of their family members, will never be the same.” 

It’s worth noting that Owens has more than 1.2 million followers on X. His words on the social media platform certainly carry a lot of weight and can influence people. Additionally, he offered a $25,000 reward for anyone who came forward with information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in the boating trip mishap. All that further raised suspicion around the three boys, who were already under public scrutiny. 

“Not only is he defaming [the friends], he’s basically saying to the mob, get your pitchforks, get your torches,” Paltzik claimed. 

But the Mississippi grand jury declined to file criminal charges against Hudson, Pitalo, and Seymour. According to them, Wells’ death appeared to be consistent with drowning. But Wells’ parents, along with civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, proceeded with the call for further investigations. They cited the lack of water in Wells’ stomach and questioned the drowning verdict. 

“I cannot take that ruling, and I cannot move on with my life,” Christine Wonsley, Wells’ mother, reportedly said about the grand jury finding. “We have been left with more questions and heartbreak than any answers.” 

A federal defamation lawsuit won’t disappear with a simple tweet. With a Mississippi grand jury declining criminal charges, the UTC Hall of Famer may face a high-stakes courtroom battle over his accusations.