Free Randy Gradishar!
After being snubbed far too many times to count for too many years to fathom, forced to stand outside, his nose pressed against the glass of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, hasn’t the leader of the Orange Crush been held hostage by unreasonable disappointment long enough?
As a diplomat experienced at negotiating with hostile foes, the daughter of a football coach and a minority stakeholder in her beloved Broncos, Condoleezza Rice needs to tackle this task:
Rescue Gradishar from football purgatory.
Secure him a gold jacket from Canton, Ohio.
“I’m part of the Orange Crush generation,” Rice said last week, after being introduced by the Waltons as a member of the team’s new ownership group.
As you might have heard, Gradishar was snubbed again, when the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that Dallas Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley, New York Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko and Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Ken Riley are the three senior finalists for the class of 2023.
Although all three must receive 80% approval from the full selection committee on the eve of the Super Bowl early next year, that vote is considered a mere formality. Howley, Klecko and Riley will get gold jackets.
“People keep telling me, ‘If you played on the East Coast, you’d already be in,’ ’’ Gradishar said.