Character Matters

As I was driving to work this morning, sports talk radio was discussing the allegations against Lawrence Taylor. The focus of that discussion was whether character should be a considered in Hall of Fame voting, or if someone can be removed from the Hall of Fame because of questionable behavior later in life. I was disappointed in the number of people (including the radio hosts) that felt that a person should be judged solely by his performance on the field.

What message does that send to our children? As long as you are a great athelete, a phenomenal performer, or a wizard on Wall Street, somehow those issues should be viewed independently of your character. In the classic flim, "Chariots of Fire," one of the Olympic committed noted that Eric Liddle's running was an extension of his character. The two were inexplicitlly connected. Liddle's life, dedication to others and self-sacrifcie were "hall of fame performances" more than any gold trinket or cup that set on his Edinburgh sideboard.

I applaud Roger Goodell's approach since he has become commissioner of the NFL. He has made it clear that being part of the professional football fraternity is a priviledge that carries a corresponding responsibility. What you do off the field matters. Ben Rothlesburger, Brian Cushing, Michael Vick and Pacman Jones have all learned there is a price to pay for inappropriate conduct. In each cases above the conduct of these men impacted their teams.

From the time my children were small I tried to encourage them to pick hereos that were men of character. It didn't matter if they won a superbowl, held the record for sacking the quarterback or hit 70 home runs in a season - who they are is more important than what they can do on the field. We are sending a very bad message to our youth, if you are big enough, strong enough, fast enough and talented enough it doesn't matter what your character is, someone will pay you the big bucks.

I hear people praise the Nick Saban's and John Calipari's of the world because they are winners. It doesn't matter that they failed to meet their commitments to other programs, engaged in recruiting violations, or lied to the media - they are winners. When we give them a pass because they bring our teams a victory, we are no better than they are.

Character Matters and that should include the Hall of Fame.