OT: Should Ray Lewis be inducted into the Hall of Fame
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:28 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^
Ray Lewis kills people
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:33 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:36 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:53 PM ^
None of us know what he did, so I'm not going to act like I do. The criminal justice system did what they thought was right with him, and he paid his price. What I do know is that he has been an active and positive influence in his community ever since. I believe that people can rehabilitate themselves, and that he's a positive example of that. I think his legacy is one of reform, not that famous people might get away with murder.
January 23rd, 2013 at 3:45 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^
I'd be worried my kid would up and disappear similar to that white suit....
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:45 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:46 PM ^
Without a doubt he is in on the first ballot. He dominated from day one, and he will retire when he is still playing at a really high level. Ray is one of the greatest ever to play LB or defense for that matter, and it will be interesting to see what happens to Baltmore if Ed Reed joins him in retirement post super bowl. Ed is another all time great, but it is remarkable how Ozzie Newsome has built up the offense so well.
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:47 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:49 PM ^
It amazes me how his great personality and leadership skills have made it almost taboo for anyone to even talk about his past. There are a lot of missing pieces in that case, and Ray Lewis is a big chunk of the missing story. You cannot deny that, no matter how you feel about him.
Anyways he'll get in. He's one of the greatest players of all time and he deserves it. I don't have a problem with that. But I do have a problem with how the media has put him on a pedestal as some great humanitarian and role model. That, he is not.
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:49 PM ^
No question, first ballot HOF. Guy has played linebacker at a high level for 17 years. You can't keep him out for pleading to obstruction of justice. Ask someone in Baltimore about all the philanthropy the guy does.
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:53 PM ^
Ask the family members of the victims if they care about his philanthropy. It's great he does good deeds but does that erase everything from his past not to be mentioned?
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:00 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:05 PM ^
Obviously good-doing doesn't erase or undo the past, but Ray Lewis--by all appearances--has reformed himself and become a great team player, community member, and maybe even a role model.
The HOF is not (nor should it be) a referendum on a man's past. If Ray Lewis had committed murder on the football field, done steroids, or some other "evil" that gave him an advantage or compromised the integrity of the game, I'd say his admission to the HOF might be questionable. But off-the-field issues from more than a decade-and-a-half ago shouldn't keep someone out of the Hall, even if he did some really bad stuff.
But no matter what we think, he will be inducted, and almost certainly as a first ballot member. He's one of the best LBs of all-time.
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:21 PM ^
So your argument is as long as a athlete is great at what he does and there is no douubt that Lewis is great. That the athlete can do whatever they want and as long as they do enough good deads later it wont matter.
It just frustrates me at times. Watching through my schooling and work normal non famous people dealing with the consiquences of there mistakes for the rest of there lives no matter how reformed they are and some people because they can tackle or throw a ball or act whatever just seem to get a pass.
I know I know lifes not fair nor will it ever be
January 23rd, 2013 at 4:14 PM ^
No, that's not my argument. My argument is that a player's misdeeds that are unrelated to his football career should not keep him out of the HOF. If Michael Vick had come back to the NFL, played at or near MVP level for 10 years and won three superbowls, he would deserve consideration for the Hall.
FACT: Ray Lewis is a HOF football player, and his football career is deserving of HOF recognition.
FACT: Ray Lewis has done some terrible things in his life.
I'm not saying Ray Lewis should get a free pass. I'm not saying the guy is innocent or that he deserves your respect or admiration. I'm not saying I would trust him, or that I want him as my friend. I'm saying he's a Hall of Fame football player, and that's what the Hall of Fame is all about. It's not an award for off-the-field character, nor should it be. And if you look at some of the other guys that have gotten into the HOF, they are not exactly model citizens.
January 23rd, 2013 at 4:02 PM ^
According to the State of Georgia, the only involvement Ray Lewis had in the incident you refer to was obstructing justice.
January 23rd, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:00 PM ^
I would never cast a vote for Ray Lewis. I'm surprised how many people here would.
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:00 PM ^
He plead Guilty to a lesser charge , but in the same right why did he pay off two families if he was not guilty of the two men being stabbed to death ... his two friends were both aquitted.
Besides all that I believe Ray Lewis is a First Ballott Hall of Famer .
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:00 PM ^
He plead Guilty to a lesser charge , but in the same right why did he pay off two families if he was not guilty of the two men being stabbed to death ... his two friends were both aquitted.
Besides all that I believe Ray Lewis is a First Ballott Hall of Famer .
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:03 PM ^
Im sorry but this is one of the stupidest questions I've ever seen asked on here--Ray Lewis will be (and should be) a nearly unanimous 1st ballot Hall of Famer. He is in the conversation for best linebacker ever.
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:14 PM ^
Maybe it is being debated because some people think there should be more to whether someone gets into the ahll of fame than just their stats. I'm not saying I agree or disagree because honestly, I couldn't care less who gets into hall of fames, but I can certainly see why some people would expect the criteria to be more than just a great player for getting in. There are lots of great players who never get into hall of fames for one reason or another and I would say being linked to the murder of two people would be as good a place to draw a line as any.
Again, I could not care less about the pro football hall of fame or who gets in it, but I can certainly see why some people would be a little apprehensive about throwing Ray Lewis in simply based on his play. I can see why some people would want hall of famers to be a little more than just that.
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:07 PM ^
Best MLB of all time.
Totally definitely absolutely killed two people with a knife (alledgedly).
Definitely a Hall of Famer.
OJ is in that bitch.
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:17 PM ^
He gets in because of his on-the-field performance, no questions asked. If we spent any time looking into the HOF for major sports, we'd all realize that a large number of these guys have skeletons in their closets or marks on their record that, taken in a vaccuum, would seemingly preclude them from being invited over for dinner. But the HOF isn't for nice guys; it is for great players. And Lewis is one of them. That said, if everyone could cut back a bit on "Ray Lewis is a great guy because he amps people up and talks about God all the time", that would be super. He's a great MLB, but he's also a pretty big hypocrite.
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:21 PM ^
If they have one murderer in there in OJ, why not another? The more the merrier!
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:22 PM ^
The Football Hall of Fame is based on performance on the field. And from that perspective he is one of the all time greats and a first ballot guarateed.. The Morality Hall of Fame deals with off field and and as a whole how this person is morally. He might not make the cut here.
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:30 PM ^
He's very obviously a first ballot hall of famer and arguably the greatest middle linebacker of all time.
January 23rd, 2013 at 2:15 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 3:12 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:32 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 2:02 PM ^
The race card. Sweet.
What a joke.
January 23rd, 2013 at 3:21 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 5:41 PM ^
January 24th, 2013 at 12:18 AM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 6:48 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:57 PM ^
As far as I have scene you are the only person to bring up race or his kids. I have no problem whith his race. What I have a problem with is the idolizing of a man who was at the very least involved with covering up a murder.
*This was a reply to Hank Hill not sure why it didn'y post under his.*
January 23rd, 2013 at 4:12 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:53 PM ^
The guy that was killed was not a real person. Ray Lewis obviously concocted the whole story to further his chances of being inducted into the hall of fame.
January 23rd, 2013 at 2:07 PM ^
But I don't see why this is even a matter of discussion. I have no idea what happened that night. Whether it was him who stabbed them, or his friends, or anyone else or if they stabbed them out of self defense. There are too many questions and nothing close to enough evidence for me to jump to any conclusions of who did what. I agree with the people saying we are too quick to throw out the (possible) bad but by the same token many of those same people are quick to dismiss the good that he's done for numerous people and at least that we are certain on what he's done. I don't know how you begin to try and weigh those scales and determine if someone is good enough of a person to qualify for the Hall of Fame. As far as I'm aware it is based upon your on the field performance, and that metric alone. When people compare MLBs he is the bar that they are measured against. That is Hall of Fame in my mind.
January 23rd, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 3:41 PM ^
based on name recognition, but there's some truth to that if you just look at the numbers. I can never figure out the Hall of Fame balloting. Seems like a lot of deserving players are denied for years (ie. Art Monk among others).
January 23rd, 2013 at 4:23 PM ^
Numbers aren't the only consideration. I'm not saying London Fletcher doesn't deserve HOF consideration, but he has not impacted the game the same way Ray Lewis has.
January 23rd, 2013 at 3:15 PM ^
I don't really care if he makes it into the hall of fame. I just know that his induction speech will be how he always is when he is in front of a camera.
January 23rd, 2013 at 3:24 PM ^
January 23rd, 2013 at 4:59 PM ^
They think he is a bad football player?