Our good friend and former colleague, Peter King, spent 32 years on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s selection committee. He has concerns about the recent decision to slash the panel from 50 to 28.
The reductions came with no explanation as to shrinking the number of voters or as to the voters who were kept and those who were removed. There’s no reason that fewer voters will make the process any better. King believes that one specific move will make it worse.
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“That Rick Gosselin, the most conscientious and well-researched member of the [Hall of Fame] selection committee I saw in my 32 years as a voter, has been removed from the voting group gives me doubts about the future of the Hall,” King said on Twitter. “It’s outrageous.”
The lack of transparency makes it even harder to understand the changes. There are no objective or obvious reasons for those who left and those who stayed.
By having fewer voices, the criticism of the inevitable snubs will become even more glaring. And each individual voter will have much more power.
Even with 50 voters, it has always seemed that the Hall of Fame is guided by a mysterious, arbitrary process. No one ever seems to know who’s making the changes. With the most sweeping changes the Hall of Fame has seen in years, the problem becomes even more conspicuous.
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And while the NFL likes to claim that it has no control over the Hall of Fame, its fingerprints are all over leadership. The 26-member board of directors consists of eight owners or team representatives and the Commissioner.
Even though it’s called the “Pro Football Hall of Fame,” everyone knows what it is. The candidates for enshrinement always come exclusively from the NFL; no CFL, Arena League, XFL, USFL, and/or UFL players or coaches ever have been or will be considered.
It’s an extension of the NFL. Which should give the NFL every reason to ensure it’s properly managed, in all respects.
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