Jim Tyrer's heinous final act -- killing his wife and himself -- took him out of HOF contention. Until now.
Chiefs great Jim Tyrer appeared destined for the Hall of Fame before he committed murder-suicide in 1980. Now he's on the ballot again, with advocates arguing that his heinous final act should be viewed in the context of his likely brain trauma.
"I just felt this was an issue that the ... entire committee should have a chance to discuss," said Gary Myers, a veteran New York journalist who, as a member of the Senior Committee, was among those who voted to make Tyrer one of three senior player finalists to advance to a full vote. Vahe Gregorian, a veteran journalist who has had a vote for several years, said that after speaking with Tyrer's family and a doctor who treated the player, he can accept the CTE argument.
"Off the field or away from the game contributions and/or situations are not to be considered, and selectors are prohibited from including them in presentations or discussion," the bylaws read."If a selector violates the above rule, he/she would be warned, and if repeated would be prohibited from further comments during the meeting and a possible future removal from the Selection Committee.
At 6-6 and 300 pounds, Tyrer was huge, particularly by NFL standards at the time. His head was so big it required a custom-made helmet. This, at a time when players were encouraged to use their heads as battering rams. Two days later, before dawn on Monday morning, Tyrer shot Martha to death and then turned the gun on himself.
"When the early 2000s came around, they started talking about CTE, and, in retrospect, fit that to a T," Paone said."... My gosh, this is a guy who gave his whole life to football and ended it because of football. It's an American tragedy is what it is." And last week, perhaps anticipating he won't be able to talk about the cloud hanging over Tyrer's candidacy, Borges sent an email to every voter. In it, he wrote about CTE and how no one had"connected it to the concussive and destructive game of football" in Tyrer's era. He named a number of high-profile players who have died and were later shown to have had the disease, including Junior Seau and Mike Webster, adding,"It is clear Tyrer was another of its victims.
But if history is an indication of what might happen during the meeting, the second that somebody tries to broach the murder-suicide, the conversation will be halted.Although voters aren't allowed to discuss publicly what goes on in the room, several cited the case of Lawrence Taylor as an example. When a voter tried to bring up Taylor's drug problems, including a 30-day suspension in 1988, the Hall of Fame member moderating the session cut him off.
Cole said he understands the argument for Tyrer, but it's a"bridge too far" to"reward" him with entry into the Hall. Cole and some other voters said they worry Tyrer opens the door for citing CTE in cases of other players who have committed crimes, such as former safety Darren Sharper. Sharper, a five-time Pro Bowler over a 14-year career, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2016 for drugging and raping more than a dozen women.
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