Junior Seau’s daughter not allowed to speak at Hall of Fame induction

[BLUE 1,026]

Posted by Josh Alper on July 24, 2015, 3:52 PM EDT

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the names of the people selected by the Class of 2015 to serve as their presenters and Syndey Seau was on the list as the presenter for her late father Junior Seau.

The other presenters will give speeches introducing the inductees, but the younger Seau will not. The Hall of Fame will show a five-minute video about Seau’s playing career, featuring an interview with Sydney, that makes no mention of his suicide or posthumous diagnosis of CTE. Sydney Seau told the New York Times that she wasn’t planning on making that a focus of her speech either.

“It’s frustrating because the induction is for my father and for the other players, but then to not be able to speak, it’s painful,” Sydney 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.”

Seau’s widow Gina said she was “very surprised” by the decision, which is made by the Hall and not the NFL, and that the family wouldn’t make it a “platform.” She also agreed that the focus should be on Seau’s accomplishments.

“It’s already difficult enough as it is,” Gina Seau said.

Hall of Fame spokesman Joe Horrigan said that neither the circumstances of Seau’s death nor the family’s decision to sue the NFL for wrongful death were the reason for the decision. Horrigan said “it got redundant” in the past when a presenter would repeat much of what was in the video tribute played for deceased inductees and points out that no one spoke for the late Les Richter in 2011.

Hall of Fame executive director David Baker also weighed in to say that it was the Hall’s decision and not the league’s call.

“We’re not the N.F.L., but the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Baker said. “Our mission is to honor the heroes of the game and Junior is a hero of the game. We’re going to celebrate his life, not the death and other issues.”

Whatever the reasons for the decision in Seau’s case (and Richter’s, for that matter), they’ve led to the wrong choice. On a day when Seau is being celebrated for everything he gave the game of football, the chance for someone from his family to speak in his place is one that should be as much a part of the proceedings as it would be if he were still alive.

 

Source: ProFootballTalk

Edited July 24, 2015 by BLUE

[oochymp 2,393]

I wish they'd drop the whole charade of being the "Pro Football" Hall of Fame, how many members aren't associated with the NFL? I'm pretty sure the answer is zero

[FartWaffles 1,857]

I wish they'd drop the whole charade of being the "Pro Football" Hall of Fame, how many members aren't associated with the NFL? I'm pretty sure the answer is zero

Bills OG Billy Shaw is the ONLY player in the Hall of Fame that never played for the NFL. He played his entire career with the AFL before the merge.

[BLUE 1,026]

Posted by Michael David Smith on August 8, 2015, 9:51 PM EDT

 

In one of the most bittersweet moments in the history of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Junior Seau was inducted posthumously tonight, with his induction ceremony a wonderful reminder of his great career, and his absence a tragic reminder of his life cut short by suicide.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony should be an opportunity to unite the football world and celebrate its greatest player, but Seau’s induction was shrouded in controversy. The Hall of Fame declined to allow Seau’s family to give a speech in his memory, citing a policy that has been in place for years that deceased Hall of Famers don’t have anyone speak on their behalf. But questions were raised about whether the Hall of Fame kept Seau’s family from speaking because it didn’t want anyone to mention the possibility that brain damage suffered on the football field contributed to the depression that led him to take his life.

Seau’s daughter, Sydney Seau, was not permitted to make a speech but did appear in a video played at the enshrinement ceremony.

“He was charismatic, he was a huge entertainer, always on, always fun, and just a passionate human being,” Sydney Seau said. “He was so gentle and loving and caring and just as passionate about his family as he was about the sport.”

Junior Seau raised a daughter who was capable of summing up what made him such a beloved player. It’s tragic that Seau isn’t with us to hear what his daughter had to say.

The full speech she would have given if she were allowed to do so: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/sports/football/junior-seau-hall-of-fame-sydney-seau-speech.html?_r=0

Edited August 9, 2015 by BLUE

[BwareDWare94 723]

Glad she was allowed to speak, but it never should have been in question.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Um, she wasn't, Bware.

[BwareDWare94 723]

I thought they eventually allowed her to speak.

[Bay 2,003]

I thought they eventually allowed her to speak.

She spoke in a separate interview, I believe. Not on stage obviously.

[FartWaffles 1,857]

Did y'all even watch it? She DID give her speech on the stage.

[Bay 2,003]

Did y'all even watch it? She DID give her speech on the stage.

Just saw something with her on the side.

[FartWaffles 1,857]

Just saw something with her on the side.

Well I watched it all. She gave that entire speech on the main stage. I'll try and find a video of it later.

[BLUE 1,026]

it was a prerecorded interview she had that they played and it wasn't nearly as long as what she would have done. I linked to it in my post, but the video was deleted.

 

Her full speech would have been what I linked in the NY Times article.

Edited August 12, 2015 by BLUE