Just as you state that you'd like to hear what he had to say, Ownens, just like some of the other most obnoxious of the sports gods, believes that any attention is better than no attention. And having obnoxious players that people love to hate, is, like it or not, good for revenues of their sport. And they know it.
Look at John McEnroe back in his day. People hated him, but the television ratings of those watching tennis matches when he played went to new highs. And he's still around today as a recognized personality associated with the sport years after his last match.
Just like another king jerk, Dennis Rodman. Teams got tired of him and dumped him, but for the most part he was right in his arrogant assumption that he could keep on making millions on and off the court as long as he was still able to help teams win games. And I'm pretty sure, despite having to clean up his act a bit due to the alcohol consumption catching up to him, Rodman still hasn't had to resort to a 9-5 job to pay his bills.