Jewell
Footballguy
Why? Part of what we love about sports as a society are the personalities. We prefer Broadway Joe over Bart Starr. We prefer the self-espoused "Greatest of All Time" Muhammad Ali over Joe Louis. And we prefer Charles Barkley over Tim Duncan. In each of those cases, the latter player is likely better (certainly iffy with Louis-Ali), but the majority of society prefers the former guy because he showed some personality or a personality trait that people like. It's the same reason that Tim Tebow's jersey is the top selling NFL jersey before he even takes a pro snap, and it's the same reason America prefers John Madden to more analytical analysts like Chris Collinsworth. People put weight on other people's personalities. We elect the politician who's charismatic, we hire the guy we liked during the interview process, and we hang around with guys we like (for the most part).Yes, because it is the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not the Life Hall of Fame. If that were the case, who knows how many of these players wouldn't qualify. There is a point as fans where I believe we need to have perspective that a great football player is just that, and trying project any other greatness onto person is our fault. We need to separate our adoration of on-field accomplishments from the true human we know little about outside the lines.So someone could retire, be voted in, and turn into a serial killer/rapist, and you're cool with that?My own opinion is that once you are in you should be in for life.
So no.
If we consider personality in every other facet of life, why not the Hall of Fame? If a person's personality is so great that we reward them like a Tebow. Why can't a person's personality be so bad (say either a rapist, murderer, or pedophile) that we completely punish them as a society, including removal from fraternities where their presence may tarnish other members who've lived an exemplary life? Almost any club in America would wipe itself clean of a murderer, rapist, or pedophile. Why not the Hall of Fame?
EDIT: The bolded part is why I'd like to see these things voted on by the other living members of the Hall. Not sportswriters, not fans, just the other members of the fraternity.
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