Taylor mailbag: HOF boot too strong

Let's start this Lawrence Taylor-related column by making one thing clear: Taylor can't be removed from the Pro Football Hall of Fame – at least not under the Hall's current bylaws.

"Our By-Laws do not provide for any method to remove someone from the Pro Football Hall of Fame," Hall spokesman Joe Horrigan wrote via email. "A player is elected based solely upon what he did on the playing field."

While that makes my idea of banishing Taylor from the Hall if he's guilty of rape charges moot, it doesn't extinguish my sentiment. Particularly not after Yahoo! Sports colleague Adrian Wojnarowski forwarded a column he wrote for The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) the day Taylor was inducted to the Hall.

Taylor was in the same five-man class with running back Eric Dickerson and tight end Ozzie Newsome in 1999. As Dickerson gave his induction speech, he talked about how overwhelmed he was by the moment and promised to "never do anything to make the Hall of Fame embarrassed of my actions in any way."

If only Taylor had been listening while Dickerson was speaking, perhaps then we wouldn't have had the raging debate my column stirred among readers last week.

Of the hundreds of emails I received, about half of you agreed. Of the half who didn't, you didn't have to get so personal. However, I can take it if I'm going to dish it out.

Before we get to some of your emails, I will relay a couple of comments from former NFL players on the subject. On Tuesday, former player and agent Ralph Cindrich called in a tizzy.

"You know something is strange when I agree with you," Cindrich said with his typical Pittsburgh sarcasm. "If this stuff continues to happen, people are just going to say enough is enough and they're going to stop watching.

"Do you want to take your kid to the Hall of Fame and, 'Oh, son, this guy was a murderer and this guy raped someone.' Come on, let's have some decency."

Several Hall of Famers politely declined to comment on Taylor's situation, mostly out of respect for the judicial process. That said, none of them sounded too happy about the subject.

"Call me back if he gets convicted," one of them said, holding back some obvious disgust. "I might have something to say then."

Until then, here's a sampling of the reader response:

Duke lacrosse team? Let the facts play out. By writing this you are adding to the guilty-first-now-prove-your-innocence mentality that the press has been guilty of more and more in our free society regardless of your opening statement. That being said, L.T. is a dumb ass for putting himself in that position. If he did solicit the services of a pimp and prostitute, I am sure he didn't ask for ID and I am sure most prostitutes are on the young side. The guy could have gotten something much better just using the internet … hello Craigslist? I absolutely don't agree with removing him from the HOF. You make it by your on-field production, not how good of a guy you are. If he was playing today he would have been suspended for his actions during his playing career and he may not have made the Hall. It is hard to compete while you are suspended – the benefits of playing in a different era. I don't disagree with you on what should happen to him if he is found guilty, however let's hold our fire and hammer him for being a dumb ass! Plus remember too, hide behind a tree if you see L.T. on the street. I would hate to see what happens if he decides to snap on you!

Gerald Jones
Rocklin, Calif.

Fair points and a pretty balanced take on the situation. I will say that I prefaced the column by saying my opinion was contingent upon Taylor being convicted. As for hiding from Taylor, I'm not terribly concerned. I don't hate Taylor and I certainly didn't mock him. I only believe that he took advantage of the efforts of others to help him get to the Hall of Fame and now has disrespected that help. Plus, I don't think he wants to add an assault charge to his plate, so I don't suspect he'll be coming after me.

The Hall of Fame is about what he did on the field. If you're not gonna throw O.J. out, why throw L.T. out? You can't go back years later and have a do over. How many of those in the Hall right now have hidden pasts that we know nothing about? Are we then gonna hire detectives to investigate past inductees? I know it's different since he was arrested, but even if convicted, the Hall has nothing to do with this.

Dennis

Dennis was one of many readers to bring up O.J. Simpson and his sordid life, not to mention Ty Cobb (who reportedly claimed to have killed a man) or Babe Ruth and his drinking and womanizing. While that's a fair argument, my counter is that change has to start somewhere. I draw the line at Taylor, if he's convicted. As for bringing detectives into the situation, that's really way off base. We're talking about someone who broke the law in such an obvious way that the police came after him.

Hey, Jason, I totally disagree with your comments about Lawrence Taylor being kicked out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is the football hall of fame and not the great human being hall of fame. Off-the-field issues don't get him into the football hall of fame, it was his on the field performance just like others.

Philip McLaughlin
Jersey City, N.J.

Philip, I'm not asking that Lawrence Taylor be a "great" human being. But I think there's a human standard out there that we can expect of people whom we shower with adulation and honor, such as Taylor. I don't think it's too much to ask that he avoid significant problems like this one.

Just wondering why an award-winning writer has presumed a Hall of Famer guilty before a judge has, thus proving racial undertones the media has; embracing false preconceived notions of African Americans. No wonder no one can comment on your article, it's more slanted than hard left ideology.

A. Smith

I didn't presume Taylor guilty and clearly stated that from the start of the column. As for embracing "false preconceived notions of African Americans," I don't know what you're talking about. Sounds like you're making assumptions about me.

I don't know, or care to know, your history but then neither does anyone else. Are there any halls of fame in your future? Is anybody scrutinizing your every action? There are honest ways to make a living you know.

Don
Chandler, Ariz.

So, just because I haven't reached the same level of success in my field that Taylor reached in his, I'm not allowed to state my opinion about him? Is that really what you think? If so, that's pretty backward thinking. Under your logic, it would be hard for anyone to criticize the president because so few people reach that level. You might want to rethink your approach.

Jason, your condemnation of L.T. for his bogus "rape" case is nothing short of despicable. Was L.T. right to allegedly have intercourse with a prostitute? No, it's illegal here in NY, but it's legal in this country and there was absolutely no way for him to know that the girl was underage. It is absolutely insane to me that a man can be charged with rape and soliciting prostitution in the same case. The $300 was paid, there's no question about that. But how does a man get charged with both rape and prostitution? Unless they can prove that L.T. ordered an underage girl, or the girl says that she told L.T. she was 16, how in the name of all that's holy can you accuse L.T. of rape? The pimp is another story altogether, someone who would beat and force a 16-year-old into prostitution should have the book thrown at him, but L.T.? Really? For having sex with a prostitute? Out of the Hall? Disgraced forever? I don't think so. Neither should you.

Brian Grutman
New York, N.Y.

What's despicable is you somehow are trying to justify that a 51-year-old man shouldn't take greater responsibility to know with whom he's having sex. In particular, a man who has had so many breaks cut for him over the years and managed to get into the Hall of Fame despite his many mistakes. Taylor should have been way more careful.

Nice article on L.T. Too bad most, if not all, of the sports leagues simply turn a blind eye when one of their own is involved in drugs, prostituting, or any extreme case of misconduct. The NFL alone tolerates acts of murder and still allows players in the league. It amazes me how they simply say they are merely a subset of what goes on in society. Unbelievable! If Taylor is guilty I can already see how the NFL will not do nearly enough to punish him for his actions. A 51-year-old man with a 16-year-old. Even at 19 – wow is he one sick dude. But hey, he reigned terror on QBs in the NFL – now I can have a good laugh when I see the shield on Sundays. Again thanks for the article.

Joe
Canton, Ohio

Thanks, good to see someone from the city where the Hall of Fame resides weighing in on the situation.

Taylor during his HOF induction speech in 1999.
(Mark Lyons/Getty Images)

Lawrence Taylor should be banned, from the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well any other association with the sport. What he did was wrong; it has given a black eye to pro sports as well pro football! Young fans have no real idols to look up to these days. We can teach our youth right from wrong at an early age. Then when they become older, we let them out into the wide world to learn even more! Then someone like a Lawrence Taylor does something really dumb like this. I say ban his butt, from all and every association with the pro sports world.

Paul "Billy" Wolfe
Carbondale, Pa.

Strong stuff from the heartland of football.

Jason, I agree 100 percent with your story on L. Taylor. I think he is a disgrace and should be banned from the Hall of Fame. I have a 16-year-old daughter and this story makes me SICK! My favorite player and person who played the game was Walter Payton … and L.T. doesn't belong in the same building (Hall of Fame) as Sweetness. … He is a LOSER! Thank you!

Timothy Corcoran
Madison Wis.

Well, let's see what the courts have to say on the matter. It's going to be a wild ride.