Lately, the list of professional athletes and former athletes that have had legal “problems” has grown longer and more distinguished.

Gilbert Arenas.

Tiger Woods.

Ben Roethlisberger.

And with the recent arrest of Lawrence Taylor, murmurs have grown louder concerning the possibility of stripping “super star” athletes of accolades they earned on the field.  For instance, some commentators have suggested that the Pro Football Hall of Fame ought to consider expelling LT from their hallowed chambers.  My question is… why?

Now the Court of Public Opinion may have already rendered its verdict, but he hasn’t been convicted of anything yet, and some are suggesting an extreme, and to the best of my knowledge, a “first of its kind” type of punishment.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume he is convicted.  How does this change any of his accomplishments on the field?

The game-changing dominance that LT displayed on the field became the thesis of Michael Lewis’ best-seller The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.  Taylor revolutionized the game.  He forced coaches and general managers to re-structure their offensive game plans around him.  Teams began to draft offensive tackles as insurance policies for their quarterbacks, as Lewis wrote, to protect their investments from LT and players like him.

In my opinion, Hall of Fame credentials ought to be based upon what an athlete accomplished on the field.  Taylor’s performances as a linebacker got him inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Some advocates of removing LT from the Hall of Fame have argued that, based upon the NFL’s recent policy of protecting the reputation of the shield (See suspension of Ben Roethlisberger), his flawed character ought to carry some weight.  They cite baseball’s Hall of Fame selection and voting policy as support.

Players are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.  Each year, ballots are sent to a select group of baseball journalists.  These ballots state that: “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.”

Now, if LT played baseball, and if this incident took place post-retirement but prior to his induction into the HOF, I would submit that perhaps my opinion would differ.  However, Taylor was inducted years before his most recent arrest, and unlike its baseball counterpart, the Pro Football Hall of Fame does not have a similar “character clause” in its selection process.

By no means am I defending or condoning LT’s alleged course of conduct.  However, if he is guilty of the crimes of which he has been accused, the criminal justice system is the proper forum to determine the appropriate punishment for his actions.

An athlete’s on-the-field performance ought to be judged separately from his or her conduct off-the-field.

The fact that he’s a miscreant (or in this instance, perhaps a criminal) after his retirement does not erase the impact he had on the game, and it should not tarnish the recognition that the Pro Football Hall of Fame bestowed upon him.

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