Several of you have raised a legitimate question in the wake of the news that Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor faces statutory rape charges in New York.
Can he be kicked out of Canton?
In a word, no.
In more words, off-field behavior is supposed to have no relevance to consideration for enshrinement. Peter King of SI.com and NBC tells us that, when Taylor came up for a vote in 1999, some raised the possibility of not giving him entry on the first ballot due to his history of off-field misconduct. King said that he and others argued that those matters shouldn’t matter.
Indeed, O.J. Simpson remains in the Hall of Fame, even though he now is in jail.
The next dilemma the voters could face in this regard will come in four years, if former Colts receiver Marvin Harrison ends up being tried and convicted of one or more crimes in relation to the April 2008 shooting and July 2009 killing of Dwight Dixon.
