The Pro Football HOF "does not plan to let" late NFLer Junior Seau's daughter Sydney "or anyone else speak" on his behalf during next month's induction ceremony, according to a front-page piece by Ken Belson of the N.Y. TIMES. Instead, it will "show a video commemorating his career, while avoiding questions about his suicide in 2012 at age 43 and the subsequent diagnosis of traumatic brain injury that doctors said they believed was brought on by hits to his head." The video also will not mention the "lawsuit that Seau’s family has filed against the NFL." For HOF officials, "simply showing the video, which will not invoke Seau’s suicide, will keep the focus on his playing days." Sydney Seau said, "I just want to give the speech he would have given. It wasn’t going to be about this mess. My speech was solely about him." The HOF said that Seau’s brain injury and suicide "had nothing to do with its decision to show only a video, but Seau’s death continues to haunt the NFL." Belson noted a video produced by NFL Network typically is shown "for each inductee." For living inductees, a family member or a close associate then "introduces the player on stage for what is often an emotion-filled speech." Presenters previously spoke for deceased inductees, but HOF Exec VP/Museums, Selection Process & Chief Communications Officer Joe Horrigan, who has overseen the enshrinement ceremony for 20 years, said that they "often repeated what was in the video, prolonging an already lengthy ceremony." Belson noted the HOF several years ago "eliminated speeches in these cases." Horrigan said that Seau’s video tribute "will be five minutes, two minutes longer than for living inductees." An NFL spokesperson said that it was "involved in many aspects of the Hall of the Fame weekend, including the production of the enshrinement ceremony, but that it left decisions about allowing any speeches to the Hall" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/25).
STAYING ON A POSITIVE MESSAGE: In San Diego, Kevin Acee wrote the "natural reaction is to believe the NFL and Hall of Fame do not want the focus that day to be on Seau’s death." Seau's widow, Gina, "filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the league on behalf of the couple’s minor children," while Sydney and Tyler Seau have "joined the suit." The family "opted out of a class-action suit against the NFL and is awaiting a ruling by a judge on whether their case will be tried separately." Junior Seau "had long said he wanted his daughter to introduce him at his Hall induction" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/25). In Phoenix, Andrew Joseph wrote the "popular opinion behind the NFL's decision is that the league doesn't want Seau's family to bring focus to concussion-related issues, which seems petty, considering it's not a subject that will be ignored any time soon" (AZCENTRAL.com, 7/24).
RULES WERE MEANT TO BE BROKEN: ESPN’s Jemele Hill said the NFL and HOF in this situation appear "tone deaf," something the league increasingly has been "in recent years." Hill: “Considering this case, what this man meant and the fact that we know that one of his wishes was to have his daughter present him, it just seems incredibly heartless. What's the downside?” ESPN’s Howard Bryant said, “During this time of concussions and settlements with former players on a stage where you are honoring your game, here's a man who shot himself in the chest to protect his brain so it could be studied by science. Who cares about your rules!? This is something that is bigger than that. This is something that I feel that if you are the NFL, you need to be out in front of it. You can actually look better by allowing people to speak” ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 7/26).
