We all know the story of Pat Tillman. He was the guy who, shortly after 9/11, decided to give up a promising career in the NFL so he could enlist and serve his country. And as is the unfortunate reality sometimes, Tillman was killed as a result.
It’s one of the most noble things I’ve ever seen someone do and he deserves to be celebrated as a great man and never forgotten. However, the recent movement to put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is an overreaction on several different levels.
The first and most obvious is that the Hall of Fame is for players who excelled as individuals. It goes against what football is all about, but that’s how it’s done. Teams are not inducted into the Hall of Fame, people and their personalities are not inducted into the Hall of Fame — players are.
The athlete in the pads and the stats they accrue is what is being honored. It’s not a good-guy contest. So putting Tillman in the Hall simply doesn’t fly.
If personality was to become a factor in whether or not a player is inducted, someone like Lawrence Taylor would have to be removed, even though he’s clearly the best outside linebacker to ever play the game.
Do we really want to keep Taylor out of the Hall because he didn’t make the best decisions during his playing career?
I hear Tom Brady can be a bit of a stuck-up jerk with fans, does that mean that when it comes his time to hang up his cleats that he shouldn’t be inducted? Of course not, but these short-sighted people see only one side of the coin — the side that helps them push whatever silly argument they’re making.
Let me reiterate the respect and admiration I have for Tillman and the sacrifice he was willing to make for his country and it citizens, but 238 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, and 39 starts in a four-year playing career are far from Hall-worthy.
He has a memorial in Canton and is remembered every year by the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals have even included him in their Ring of Honor and his name has become synonymous with courage and nobility.
Why now make his name into a joke by enshrining him into a Hall of Fame in which he does not belong?