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In the hours Thursday after the announcement of the death of O.J. Simpson, the football legend who infamously was acquitted of criminal charges in a double murder, few wanted to talk.
The National Football League has provided no statement on the passing of the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. The Buffalo Bills, who a day before wished Steve Tasker a happy birthday with an accompanying graphic on X, said nothing. The University of Southern California kept mum after one of its eight Heisman Trophy winners — yes, eight, because we all witnessed the 2005 season with our own eyes — passed away.
We know why this is. As one team executive told me Thursday afternoon, you would rather be criticized for something you don’t say rather than something you do say. Any statement given in the wake of Simpson’s death would be, quite literally, only a statement.
And that’s just what the Pro Football Hall of Fame did on Thursday.
“O.J. Simpson was the first player to reach a rushing mark many thought could not be attained in a 14-game season when he topped 2,000 yards,” Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in a statement. “His on-field contributions will be preserved in the Hall’s archives in Canton, Ohio.”
Simpson has been in the Hall of Fame since 1985. Legends die all the time, and never must it be made clear that their busts will remain. In the case of Simpson, for obvious reasons, it does.
“[T]he current Hall bylaws do not include any process for removal of an enshrinee once elected,” Pro Football Hall of Fame Chief Communications and Content Office Rich Desrosiers wrote in an email to CBS Sports on Thursday.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame tells its voters to consider only what a player or coach did on the field. And once that person is in, there’s no getting him out.
Of course, the Hall can always change its bylaws. The institution — and, for that…
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Author : Jonathan Jones
Publish date : 2024-04-11 21:35:43
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