Cowboys legend Darren Woodson stays classy about Hall of Fame snub, but he should be in
Darren Woodson won’t act like Harry Carson and lash out against the Pro Football Hall of Fame and its voters.
He won’t sound bitter like Terrell Owens after he was denied admittance to Canton.
Carson and Owens had their say, but were eventually elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The latter is bound to happen for Woodson, a former Dallas Cowboys safety and a key figure on three-time Super Bowl champion teams of the 1990s.
Woodson, who is admittedly hurt and disappointed that he was passed over again for admittance into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and not be a member of the Class of 2024, stayed professional and classy as always.
The 2024 Hall of Fame class includes Dwight Freeney, Devin Hester, Julius Peppers, Andre Johnson, Patrick Willis, Steve McMichael and Randy Gradishar.
“I’m happy for the guys that got in,” Woodson said from his home in Dallas after leaving Las Vegas, site of the Super Bowl and the announcement, before the new class was revealed on Thursday. “They’re much deserving of that. I’m happy for the other dudes. It’s their dream too.”
But don’t misconstrue his elegance.
The hard-hitting safety, who finished his career as the Cowboys leading tackler, is disappointed and angry.
“You played a game because you’re competitive and it’s always been that in my nature to be competitive,” Woodson said. “I’m a business owner. And you can imagine the tenacity you need to have to have two businesses running at the same time. It’s my goal. I have achieved everything else. I think I’m in every Hall of Fame known to man, the Arizona Hall of Fame, the Texas Hall of Fame.
“But the big one is always that gold jacket. And that’s the one that’s when I first started playing football, that’s the one I’ve always wanted. It’s disappointing. The reality is, I want to be recognized.”
And he should be recognized.
Woodson has gone through the pain being left at the doorstep of the Hall of Fame for the second straight season.
He was a finalist last year when the Super Bowl was in his home state of Arizona.
He was disappointed.
Now, he is hurt for himself and his family.
“I’m more disappointed for my family,” Woodson said. “They’ve been with me through this for so long. If it happens, it happens. God willing that it happens some time soon.”
Anyone who watched Woodson play knows it should have already happened.
Woodson played 12 seasons with the Cowboys. He is the team’s all-time leader in tackles with 1,350. And he’s a five-time Pro Bowler.
Woodson was a defensive anchor on three Super Bowl title teams.
As much as Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, the famed Hall of Fame Triplets, get credit for the Cowboys Super Bowl success on offense, only Charles Haley represents the dynasty teams in the Hall of Fame on defense. And those units ranked in the top 10 in yards and points allowed every season, including No. 1 in 1992.
It was crime that defense was overlooked and overshadowed then and that Woodson continues to be violated by that ongoing misdeed.
