Jerome Bettis Snubbed While Seven Others Get Voted In
The 2011 inductees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame have just been announced. Headlining the class are Deion "Prime Time" Sanders and Marshall Faulk. Others getting the call are Shannon Sharpe, Richard Dent, Ed Sabol, Les Richter and Chris Hanburger.
Each of the seven new inductees are certainly deserving, but perhaps the person who is perhaps the most deserving of Canton has been snubbed outright.
That would be Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, who retired as the NFL's fifth all-time leading rusher with 13,662 yards.
To put that in perspective, Faulk is 10th on that same list with 12,279 rushing yards. He's obviously very deserving thanks to the fact that he's seventh on the all-time touchdown list with a total of 136, but you still have to question if he is really that much more deserving than The Bus.
Just a couple days ago, Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Gene Strother had the pleasure of talking one on one with bettis and one of the things that came up was Bettis' case for the Hall of Fame.
"I know it’s going to be tough," he said, "because I don’t think there is any way you’re going to get three running backs [himself, Faulk, and Curtis Martin] in by any stretch of the imagination. Somebody’s going to be left out and I have come to the realization that it could be me."
Speaking further about the issue, you could say that Bettis could almost see the snub coming.
“There are no locks in this business. But you know, I do understand that, if I don’t get in, it isn’t because I wasn’t worthy. It’s because there were five to seven other guys that were worthy," he said.
Indeed, this would certainly seem to be the case. However, you can bet that there is going to be a pretty harsh public outcry from the state of Pennsylvania over this (if there hasn't been already), and such a turn of the proverbial screw should only help Bettis' Hall of Fame push.
He's going to get in sooner or later. But all things considered, it probably should have been sooner.
The 2011 inductees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame have just been announced. Headlining the class are Deion "Prime Time" Sanders and Marshall Faulk. Others getting the call are Shannon Sharpe, Richard Dent, Ed Sabol, Les Richter and Chris Hanburger.
Each of the seven new inductees are certainly deserving, but perhaps the person who is perhaps the most deserving of Canton has been snubbed outright.
That would be Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, who retired as the NFL's fifth all-time leading rusher with 13,662 yards.
To put that in perspective, Faulk is 10th on that same list with 12,279 rushing yards. He's obviously very deserving thanks to the fact that he's seventh on the all-time touchdown list with a total of 136, but you still have to question if he is really that much more deserving than The Bus.
Just a couple days ago, Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Gene Strother had the pleasure of talking one on one with bettis and one of the things that came up was Bettis' case for the Hall of Fame.
"I know it’s going to be tough," he said, "because I don’t think there is any way you’re going to get three running backs [himself, Faulk, and Curtis Martin] in by any stretch of the imagination. Somebody’s going to be left out and I have come to the realization that it could be me."
Speaking further about the issue, you could say that Bettis could almost see the snub coming.
“There are no locks in this business. But you know, I do understand that, if I don’t get in, it isn’t because I wasn’t worthy. It’s because there were five to seven other guys that were worthy," he said.
Indeed, this would certainly seem to be the case. However, you can bet that there is going to be a pretty harsh public outcry from the state of Pennsylvania over this (if there hasn't been already), and such a turn of the proverbial screw should only help Bettis' Hall of Fame push.
He's going to get in sooner or later. But all things considered, it probably should have been sooner.
