- Antonio Brown’s otherwise clear-cut case for the Pro Fooball Hall of Fame could be complicated by his legal issues, including an attempted murder charge.
- Hall of Fame voters are instructed to only consider what a candidate accomplished on the field when weighing whether candidates are worthy of making the cut.
- But the case of Jim Tyrer, who killed his wife, demonstrated that other factors come into consideration during votes.
One look at the football resume and there’s no debate that Antonio Brown produced so many of the credentials that should land him a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
On top of sterling stats and a collection of Pittsburgh Steelers franchise records, Brown made the All-Decade Team for the 2010s – chosen by Hall of Fame voters – and was the only wide receiver during that decade with four first-team All-Pro selections. It should be noted that Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones and Larry Fitzgerald played in that decade, too.
But this debate runs way deeper than football.
One whiff of the enormous legal matter facing Brown – arraigned Monday in Florida on an attempted murder charge, he pleaded not guilty – and it’s apparent that the repercussions will likely weigh heavily on his projected Hall of Fame status.
No, Brown, 37, isn’t in the mix for the next Hall of Fame class that is now under consideration, to be revealed during the week of Super Bowl 60. He won’t be eligible until the Class of 2027, which means he’ll be on the ballot at this time next year.
By then, perhaps there will be resolution of Brown’s criminal case. The prosecutor has said that Brown faces up to a 30-year prison sentence because a firearm was allegedly used. Brown has maintained that he acted in self-defense during an incident in May that followed an amateur boxing match in Miami. Let the legal system play out.
The Hall of Fame process?
Technically, whatever transpires with Brown off the field – and that includes multiple allegations of varying degrees of misconduct in recent years – is not supposed to be considered as part of his Hall of Fame candidacy.
It’s in the bylaws. As a member of the Hall’s selection committee for nearly 30 years, I’ve seen it in writing, heard it, wondered about it and discussed it. We’re instructed as voters to only consider what a candidate does on the field.
That sounds so cut and dried.
Until it isn’t.
The selection committee, remember, involves human beings casting votes. That’s where conscience comes in. It can be hard enough to distinguish between worthy candidates at any given position with no sorts of off-the-field issues – the current slate of receivers, for instance, includes holdovers Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith, Sr. and Anquan Boldin, with first-ballot Fitzgerald now in the running – because the competition is so thick.
Throw in a criminal case, conviction or other forms of drama, and bylaws or not, the swing factor happens. Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame, there’s no “morality clause” in the mix for the NFL version. At least not on paper.
Brown, who caught 928 passes for 12,291 yards (ranked 25th and 28th, respectively, on the NFL’s all-time list) over a 12-year career, undoubtedly has issues right now that are much bigger to deal with than his potential Hall call.
Yet it’s fair to wonder about the ripple effect of his case, especially in the wake of a candidacy last time around that tested the boundaries of the Hall’s voters limits.
In January, the selection committee considered Jim Tyrer as a seniors finalist. Tyrer, who played 13 of his 14 pro seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s and ‘70s, is arguably the most decorated eligible candidate not in the Hall of Fame. A dominating left tackle, he earned eight All-Pro selections and nine Pro Bowl bids. He won a Super Bowl, is in the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame and is on the AFL’s All-Time Team.
Tyrer, though, killed his wife, Martha, and died by suicide in 1980.
Never mind his football credentials. Tyrer was never seriously considered for the Hall until advancing in the last process as one of the three seniors finalists.
It ignited some of the most passionate debate during my decades on the committee. Supporters of Tyrer’s candidacy argued that his condition before the tragedy – including depression, paranoia and severe headaches – reflected symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain disease linked to repetitive head trauma.
Of course, CTE wasn’t discovered until 2002, when Dr. Bennet Omalu performed an autopsy of former Steelers center Mike Webster. So, Tyrer’s case, despite apparent symptoms, wasn’t definitively proven to be CTE.
Beyond that, however, some, if not many, voters struggled with Tyrer’s candidacy as a moral issue and demonstrated a clear line they wouldn’t cross. It is doubtful that Tyrer will advance to the final round of seniors candidates this time.
That is certainly an extreme case. Yet it is part of the package that voters must consider as real human beings charged to do their due diligence.
Similar to the Tyrer candidacy that was dormant, Darren Sharper had legit credentials. The former NFL safety picked off 63 passes, tied for eighth all-time, twice led the league in interceptions and was named to the All-Decade Team for the 2000s. Sharper, who played for the Packers, Vikings and Saints over a 14-year career, became eligible for the Hall in 2015.
In 2014, he pleaded guilty to rape and drug charges, resulting in a 20-year prison sentence. So much for the Hall. Sharper has technically remained on the initial ballot of modern-day candidates but is essentially an invisible candidate who hasn’t advanced.
It’s notable, too, that Sharper was removed from the Hall of Fame at his alma mater, William & Mary. That prompts a flashback of the heat on the Hall in 1994, after O.J. Simpson was charged in the double murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Amid intense demands to have Simpson (Class of ’85) and his bust ousted, the Hall of Fame stuck to the bylaws that stipulate an enshrinee can never be removed.
Yeah, those bylaws.
Brown is innocent until proven guilty, and thankfully no lives were lost in the incident that led to his charges. After being extradited from Dubai, he was released on $25,000 bond with the stipulation he wear a GPS ankle monitor.
The bylaws tell us that regardless of what happens with Brown’s criminal case, we as voters are only to consider what happens on the field.
I guess that makes the bizarre incident in Brown’s final NFL game fair game. Brown, traded by the Steelers to the Raiders in 2019, never played with Oakland. He was cut after an incident with then-GM Mike Mayock. He then played just one game with the New England Patriots that year after allegations of misconduct were followed by threatening text messages that became public. After serving an eight-game NFL suspension, he played his final two (partial) seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brown, reunited with his former Steelers coordinator, Bruce Arians, won a Super Bowl with the Tom Brady-inspired Bucs. And then the next season there was that last game. After refusing to go in the game against the Jets (later contending that he had an injury issue), Brown removed his jersey, shoulder pads, under shirt and ran his bare-chested self out of MetLife Stadium in a dramatic scene.
Hey, it happened on a field.
The bylaws provide pointed guidelines for the voting. But history suggests that Brown’s pending criminal case may also serve as the first potential cutdown for his Hall of Fame candidacy.
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