DO OFF-THE-FIELD ANTICS HURT POTENTIAL FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES?

On the Saturday before each Super Bowl, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announces its selections for induction into the NFL’s most exclusive fraternity. This year, six accomplished and deserving athletes were honored. Noticeably missing from the list, however, was newly eligible wide receiver, Cris Carter. A former Ohio State Buckeye who moved through the professional ranks with the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins, Carter ranks second on the all-time receptions list. He was considered by many to be an automatic first-ballot selection.

But he wasn’t.

Now the buzz among many fans and sportswriters is that Carter’s off-the-field problems kept him from being a first-time inductee. Carter was suspended by OSU for a rules violation that led to his loss of eligibility for his senior year and his pleading guilty to defrauding OSU in an agent scandal. In his early pro career, Carter battled alcohol and drug addictions. But he has used his football fame to become an inspirational speaker counseling kids to stay away from alcohol and drugs. He also has remained active in football as a member of the HBO “Inside the NFL” broadcast team. Carter has not been the victim of bad press.

This same buzz was heard when receiver Michael Irvin, the “Playmaker” for the Dallas Cowboys, was left out of the line-up in his first year of HOF eligibility. Irvin’s much-publicized issues with drugs and women did little to make him a role model, but he made the cut in 2007 and is now permanently enshrined in Canton. As an ESPN analyst at the time, having the huge sports network advocate for him on the air couldn’t have hurt.

And then there is Lawrence Taylor who, even with his multiple and memorable off-the-field escapades, was inducted in his first year of eligibility in 1999. Considered to have redefined the outside linebacker position, Taylor put it all out there in his book, “LT: Over the Edge: Tackling Quarterbacks, Drugs, and a World Beyond Football.” While the book wasn’t published until 2004, five years after his induction, Taylor’s free-wheeling reputation was hardly a secret. Still, HOF voters recognized his on-the-field talent and rewarded him with a place in the Hall.

Five of the six players in this year’s class have waited years to be inducted. Class of 2008 member, Art Monk, has led an exemplary life on and off the field but waited nine years for the honor. Maybe some really good PR would have made the wait shorter for him, but in the end, his talent got him in.

Carter will be inducted into the HOF. History and bad press are not the culprits for his being left out this year. Like Monk, Carter’s talent will get him in.