Young argued that the NFL as a league has very little to do with the Pro Football Hall of FameGETTY IMAGES
Steve Young "panned" fellow Pro Football HOFers for warning NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell they might boycott inductions, according to Gary Peterson of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. Young said, "The context is pre-’93 Hall of Famers and players in general. When you’re around those guys, many are debilitated and they’re debilitated because they played. It’s hard to watch. It’s hard to see. You start thinking, we need to take care of these guys. What can we do? Is there a way for guys to get some health insurance that they probably can’t get out on the street? To me, that’s when I go, ‘Yes.'" He added, "The owners, they don’t care if (Hall of Famers boycott). The induction isn’t even theirs. The county of Canton, Ohio owns the Hall of Fame. The NFL doesn’t own the Hall of Fame. The NFL has nothing to do with the Hall of Fame. They support the Hall of Fame. When you go to Canton those few days, you’re there to support the county fair." Young: "So the idea of us not going, the NFL is (thinking), ‘That’s your thing.’ But supporting the guys who are suffering does resonate with me. I was actually thinking the Hall of Fame guys would lead the way to do this for everybody. Obviously, it’s a little off track" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 9/22).
DOING THE RIGHT THING? THE UNDEFEATED Brando Starkey wrote NFL players, for "whatever reason, seem to lack solidarity." Until they "absorb how their lack of solidarity undermines the totality of their interests," players will "remain in their predicament and endure suboptimal working conditions" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 9/23). NBCSPORTS.com's Peter King writes his advice for Eric Dickerson and other HOFers would be to "come up with a reasonable plan for health benefits for retired players" -- not just for HOFers, and "not for $300,000 a year." They "didn’t get much empathy from players who made a fraction of what they made in their careers and weren’t included in the letter the former star players sent" to the HOF (NBCSPORTS.com, 9/24).
