Hall of Fame snub for Bill Belichick was bad enough. Jerry Smith has deserved better.
Bill Belichick was snubbed by Pro Football Hall of Fame voters on his first try. Jerry Smith should already be there. The post Hall of Fame snub for Bill Belichick was bad enough. Jerry Smith has deserved better. appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Voters to induct members for the Pro Football Hall of Fame have yet again shamelessly ignored former Washington tight end Jerry Smith. And for the first time, they have also snubbed former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
They had already made a mockery of their selections in the past. Now they’ve let America know: Their system is flawed. More voices need to be in “the room.”
Outsports has long advocated for the inclusion of Jerry Smith in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s clear his lack of inclusion in the 1980s was a snub for him coming out publicly as gay and then dying of AIDS at the height of the crisis.
This is really easy. Smith had the NFL record for touchdowns by a tight end for 27 years. The guy who broke his crazy-long-standing record is Shannon Sharpe, who is in the Hall of Fame and broke the record in 2003.
Yes, the guy who held the NFL record for touchdowns by a tight end for 27 years still isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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It’s time for Jerry Smith to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Jerry Smith held an NFL scoring record for 27 years. He has been largely ignored by the Hall Of Fame. 2020 is the year to correct that.
About 10 years ago, I spent a good amount of time at the Super Bowl talking to voters about Jerry Smith. I was eventually introduced to the guy who, according to this small fraternity, handles the inclusion of retired players.
I sat down with him at his laptop in the media room, and he explained to me that Smith would never be included, despite his long-standing NFL record. Why?
Jerry wasn’t in their top three at his position because, in large part, he hadn’t been on an all-decade team (because his career spanned two arbitrary decades, 1965-1977). Two Pro Bowls and an NFL record aren’t enough.
When it was revealed that former Patriots coach Bill Belichick — who has won more NFL Playoff games and Super Bowls than any other coach in league history — was rejected by voters for the Hall of Fame, it made sense to me.
Make no mistake, I have met many of the voters. I’ve enjoyed my time with them. These aren’t bad people or anything. Yet their process is bad. It is flawed. It should be changed.
More voices belong in the room of voters. More voters deserve ballots. This secret society of mostly older men should be opened, even just a little.
Until both Bill Belichick and Jerry Smith are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I won’t stop saying that very thing.
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The post Hall of Fame snub for Bill Belichick was bad enough. Jerry Smith has deserved better. appeared first on Outsports.
