http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/junior-seau-daughter-give-hall-speech-report-article-1.2303526

Junior Seau’s daughter won’t be allowed to give speech at late NFL star’s Hall of Fame induction: report
BY KEVIN ARMSTRONG NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Friday, July 24, 2015, 4:13 PM Updated: Friday, July 24, 2015, 10:29 PM

Chargers great Junior Seau, who committed suicide in 2012, had wanted his daughter to speak at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Junior Seau’s family will not be given the last, or any, word when the late linebacker is enshrined at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio next month.

Seau, the linebacker who killed himself in 2012 and was subsequently diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, previously told his family that he wanted his daughter, Sydney, to introduce him if he ever received the game’s highest honor. Seau was voted in during the winter, but the Hall of Fame will not allow a speaker for Seau. A video tribute will stand as the celebration of Seau’s 20-year career.

“It’s frustrating because the induction is for my father and for the other players, but then to not be able to speak, it’s painful,” Sydney told the New York Times. “I just want to give the speech he would have given. It wasn’t going to be about this mess. My speech was solely about him.”

Seau’s family previously filed a lawsuit against the NFL. After Seau’s death, doctors diagnosed him with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. Seau, a hard-charging defender who played for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, was the most prominent player to be associated with the disease that has drawn attention to the punishment players endure on the field.

At past inductions for deceased honorees, presenters spoke. Joe Horrigan, a spokesman for the Hall of Fame, told The Times they often repeated sentiments shared in videos. Horrigan maintained the Hall eliminated speeches in recent years to save time.

Seau’s widow, Gina, said she was “very surprised” by the Hall of Fame’s policy to use only a video because she did not “think Sydney or any of us were going to use the Hall of Fame as a platform.”

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Some will tell you that they love you but they've got an ulterior motive - Oh what a shame
They will tell you that they need you but they've got an ulterior motive - Personal gain

(c) Luciano


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg0-qndkemo

To give them that type of platform no matter what the family says. I guss the hoF could get a written agreement that she'll only say xyz, but even that could get messy.

I can see how this a bad pr look for the hof and thereby the nfl, but her giving a damning speech to a supportive audience would be even worse.

-The Knicks’ coaching search still includes a lone frontrunner, Kurt Rambis, whose qualifications for the position include a strong relationship with Jackson and a willingness to take the job.

I'm sure the NFL made a call and assisted with this decision.
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"People that need positivity around them all the time are weak individuals in my book" - @lilduval

This is a call from their lawyers I am sure. Unfortunate but let's not act like the Seaus are the ones suing the league. Yes, they could have put all sorts of dubious constrictions on the speech but ultimately they can't control what she says when the moment comes.

Just a shitty situation for the Seaus, all things considered.

I fuck with the NFL less and less every day.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

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I wanna go to where the martyrs went
the brown figures on the walls of my apart-a-ment...