Comments on: Commissioner believes off-field conduct should be considered in Hall of Fame voting

By: robsterNY

robsterNY — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:48:26 +0000

Hey italianarmyguy!!!!..OJ simpsons case was settled in court too….That does’nt mean squat to me ….He still killed his wife….and Belicheat still cheated!!

By: robsterNY

robsterNY — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:40:23 +0000

Hey Patsfansince73 or whatever ….What about your cheating lump a shit coach and alot of his complicet players? (Brady)???

By: steely devil hab

steely devil hab — Mon, 24 May 2010 05:49:40 +0000

ItalianArmyGuy says:
May 20, 2010 11:46 AM
ItalianArnyGuy says: May 20, 2010 11:19 AM
Belichick’s a cheater and shouldn’t be in the HOF. Big Ben was just having some fun so he should be in the HOF. Case closed.
================
Dumb-a$$ clone. WTF does “arny” mean anyways – are you an Arnold Palmer fan? Isn’t he getting a bit old?
Belichick will go into the hall – the last chance at stopping him just died in the Federal Appeals Court
Ben likely won’t go into the Hall, because his career will probably not be long enough. Steelers will find some reason to stick him on IR this season, and then cut or trade him for cheap after the season – I doubt that they really want to trot him out to be abused by the fans. When he retires in a few years, he will only get credit for the SB win over Arizona – his poor showing in the Seattle SB will make HOF voters see him as only a one-time major contributor to a SB victory. He’ll be like Mark Rypien and Trent Dilfer – one SB victory is not enough to get you into Canton
—————————-
Well, my moral friend – you can keep hoping.
Meanwhile the rest of us will be looking forward to Game #5 and our continued march onto SB#7.
BTW – 2 Superbowls…is 2 Superbowls…I didn’t realise there was and asterisk in the records books put there by malcontents like you…
…but KEEP HATIN’, little man.

By: GB3Pack4

GB3Pack4 — Fri, 21 May 2010 11:42:56 +0000

It’s about TIME!

By: sukit

sukit — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:13:25 +0000

Goddell is right! Forget the thugs and losers. I wish they would vote one person out every five years or so based on off the field behavior. OJ FIRST! Followed by Irvin. Both their asses shouldn’t be in the HOF. It should be enough to keep Bellicheat and Rapelisberger out as well. This idea is brilliant.

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:58:16 +0000

For once, Peter King and I are on the same page. And again, Roger Goodell has overstepped. (BTW, Commissioner, how is it coming with the proposed expansion team in Afghanistan? I’m sure the Taliban will be merciful to the cheerleaders.)
Yeah, Mike, you’ve made your position clear. But you cannot insert a morals clause into the Hall of Fame induction criteria without making it retroactive. And I would VEHEMENTLY oppose any attempt to remove O.J. Simpson from the Hall of Fame. You can’t pretend the first man to break 2,000 yards–in a 12-game season–did not exist. His legal troubles came YEARS after his football accomplishments. One had NOTHING to do with the other. If LT is convicted of a felony, are you going to pretend the man responsible for changing the modern pass rush never existed? Where do you draw the line? Is every player who struggles with addiction barred from the Hall? Every man who gets caught with a prostitute? All the KC players? After all, the Mann Act is still on the books.
I’m not condoning their behavior. But the Commissioner should put his energy toward INTERVENTION–like the new program aimed at helping retiring players transition to the business world. Given the inherent entitlement issues of multi-million-dollar athletes, violent nature of the sport, and ready availability of groupies, mandatory counseling might be a good idea.
As for your concerns about taking Mike Jr. to the Hall, try telling your child the TRUTH. Talented people screw up. Sometimes sports talent doesn’t equal good character. My heroes are people I know, not athletes, but even they have feet of clay. No one is perfect, Florio. Maybe you and Roger Goodell should try developing a more realistic view of the world instead of trying to pretend the world is Sesame Street.

By: malpine

malpine — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:29:03 +0000

A FULL 30 minutes? His PERSONAL office?
Wow, you’re pretty special…most people get the partial 30 minutes in the generic office.

By: GOVIKES|GOVIKES

GOVIKES|GOVIKES — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:57:26 +0000

For a guy that regularly complains about John Gruden pulling punches, I find it laughable that you leave your two cents out of this article (why start now?) because you’re posing as a journalist “on this one” (again, why start now?). Even though you agree with him, you are clearly trying to stay out of the commissioner’s way on this, pulling punches in an effort not to possibly inadvertently put your foot in your mouth and upset the commissioner, and spoil your chances at future face time with him. Hypocrite.

By: Calir

Calir — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:30:36 +0000

I think that usually you will find that players that have multiple off-field incidents rarely end up being considered HOF material because they don’t have the on the field focus they need to achieve that level. Now guys that are found cheating with the drugs should become outcasts just like they are in MLB when it comes to the HOF voting.

By: Gray Eagle

Gray Eagle — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:29:28 +0000

Once More With Feeling!
The Hall of Fame is a PRIVATE organization, neither run nor administered by the NFL.
Do you remember your vacant lot pickup games as a kid? He who owned the ball made the rules!
It’s their HOF – - they make the rules.
All else is beside the point. If the HOF folk want to admit Cheerleaders, they can do it. If they want to admit referees and linemen, they can do it. They can make, enforce or disregard their own rules as it pleases them to do.
End of rant.

By: philyeagles5

philyeagles5 — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:28:04 +0000

it the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not Living Life Away from Football Hall of Fame. off the field incidents should have nothing to do with HOF inductions. if they can play well enough to get into the HOF, then nothing should stop them from getting in.

By: egypt123

egypt123 — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:14:42 +0000

Great… Won’t be long now before we hear Defukio Smith and the NFLPA whining about this…

By: BigBear123

BigBear123 — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:09:20 +0000

Felony is a serious offense. Two consecutive positive drug tests would be serious.
King should be smart enough to grasp that.
http://www.NationalFelonLeague.com

By: ItalianArnyGuy

ItalianArnyGuy — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:02:18 +0000

Damn Belichick…….cheated the mighty Steelers out of a Super Bowl.

By: K-DIZZLE

K-DIZZLE — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:39:22 +0000

# Catamount says: May 20, 2010 1:15 PM
The Hall of Fame should be an honor that involves character. Not only do I think people like Big Ben should never get in, I think people like OJ Simpson should be kicked out. I don’t care how good he was, he sheds a very negative light on the NFL and his bust should not be in the hall. Period.
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Well, I guess we know what Roger Goodell’s PFT screen name is now… Let’s see if we can figure out Carson Palmer’s…

By: boltmancraft

boltmancraft — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:16:45 +0000

I agree with Mama Tried….It’s the NFL Hall of Fame, not the Good Guy Hall of Fame. Of course, MLB has the Good Guy Hall of Fame…how else can you explain the absence of the sports’ All-Time hit leader?

By: robert ethen

robert ethen — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:16:15 +0000

The guys with the rap sheets have their busts in the back row facing the corner of the room.

By: Catamount

Catamount — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:15:27 +0000

The Hall of Fame should be an honor that involves character. Not only do I think people like Big Ben should never get in, I think people like OJ Simpson should be kicked out. I don’t care how good he was, he sheds a very negative light on the NFL and his bust should not be in the hall. Period.

By: FireJerryJones

FireJerryJones — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:10:47 +0000

Sounds like the NFL should just start the NFL Hall of Fame… instead of the unafilliated ProFootballTalk HOF

By: K-DIZZLE

K-DIZZLE — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:51:29 +0000

@ItalianArmyGuy
WTF are you smoking? Putting Ben on IR? You can say what you want about SB XL, but they would have never been there had it not been for Ben. His play was outstanding in the playoffs that year. I’m sick of the Steeler fans that think they can just plug any guy in at QB and still win. How many Superbowls did the Steelers win the years between Terry and Ben? Be careful what you wish for.

By: omegalh

omegalh — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:25:38 +0000

I would love to see Goddell with a DUI. Just let them play football.

By: edgy1957

edgy1957 — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:24:31 +0000

Patsfansince73 says:
things he does WHILE being active in the NFL SHOULD be
**********************
Here’s the problem with that: being convicted and being guilty are two things. What I mean by that is that there are a lot of guys that have been guilty of spousal abuse but NOT convicted or even made to have their day in court.
Back in the ’50s, ’60s and even the ’70s, players got away with a lot of stuff that would have been front page material today. There wasn’t some guy with a cellphone taking video of a drunk owner trashing a former coach like Jerry Jones had done to him recently. A guy like Rodney King got beaten in the privacy of the streets without having someone with a cheap camera providing evidence for the defense. Today, if you do a pick like Seinfeld, it will be on TMZ so fast and there will be mulitiple angles from the different witnesses.
People think that playrer or even other people are so much more evil today than they were when they were younger but that’s not true. Today, you’ve got people who are willing to come forward to report abuse, rape and other crimes when it used to be kept in the shadows and there was a thick veil of shame piled on to keep it there.

By: ImAManIm40

ImAManIm40 — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:23:22 +0000

1. It’s not the NFL Hall of Fame, it’s the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Warren Moon’s CFL stats count, remember.
2. At the end of the day, the HoF is a private entity and they can set the rules they want for induction.

By: FreeAgentPro

FreeAgentPro — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:14:15 +0000

The best Goodell will ever get will be an asterisk next to those Hall inductees who had off the field problems. What will an asterisk look like on a bronze bust…about the same as it will look next to Belichick’s 3 SB wins for cheating…^O^

By: vanhelsing

vanhelsing — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:12:07 +0000

actually i dont disagree with roger much on this.
but… he is selective. if he disagrees with yer political viewpoint he wont let u buy a team or part thereof.

By: koch23jk

koch23jk — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:11:03 +0000

Last time I checked, there were no stats taken into consideration for how much money an inductee contributed to charities or, on the flip side, how many fines or suspensions said inductee had.

By: Catamount

Catamount — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:11:01 +0000

It is the hall of fame–not the hall of playing ability. However, if they do this, they need a set of criteria that is universally applied.

By: Crisper57

Crisper57 — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:09:50 +0000

If bad behavior should keep them out, then would good behavior be considered for enshrining as well?
I’m thinking of Pat Tillman, whose contributions to society transcended his contributions to the game. You know that argument would be coming if the rule ever changed.
It is a slippery slope.

By: edgy1957

edgy1957 — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:08:04 +0000

It’s the PRO FOOTBALL HOF and not the SAINTS of Football HOF. Personally, I believe that writers do take this into account and while they won’t say it out loud, they have used it for THEIR votes to keep a guy from being a first ballot as a way of punishing them for their off the field problems.
You HAVE to put that aside because if you can’t then you start letting other feelings creep in and soon you’re letting the fan in you keep out a guy who played for your mortal enemy or one who didn’t grant you that one interview that you thought would win you that Pulitzer.
I also think that the Commish should stop and think about how many people that do act badly off the field while they’re playing actually get to the point where they’re HOF worthy.
He also has to take into consideration that today’s players are under a microscope that guys back even in the ’80s weren’t under. Lance Rentzel saw his career spiral after he was accussed, for the second time, of exposing himself to a child and yet, he still managed to stay around the league for 3 more years. Today, he may not have even survived the first incident. This should be a cautionary tale for guys like Big Ben and maybe, it’s just his little way of jabbing at him and his kind so that they understand that there may be even more consequences for their actions, even if it isn’t in the form of suspensions.

By: TylerDurden

TylerDurden — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:01:34 +0000

The commissioner is wrong.