A 'can of worms' for HOF voters in Tyrer's candidacy

When Jim Tyrer first appeared connected an Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot successful the early 1980s aft completing an awesome 14-year career, the Kansas City Chiefs' violative lineman looked for illustration a judge stake to onshore successful Canton.

Tyrer, though, ne'er made it into the Hall, and his sanction vanished from the ballot for much than 40 years.

That's because, successful the early greeting hours of Sept. 15, 1980, successful an upstairs chamber of a two-story ranch house, while his children were accelerated asleep, Tyrer took a .38-caliber pistol and changeable his woman to death, and past turned the weapon connected himself -- an enactment that orphaned 4 children, stunned the Kansas City and NFL communities, and abruptly ended immoderate talk of Jim Tyrer's predetermination to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Until now.

On Tuesday, astir a half-century aft the murder-suicide, 49 voters will see letting Tyrer into Canton's hallowed halls.

His revived candidacy underscores some heightened consciousness and ongoing discomfort complete what shot tin do to the brain. With caller grounds suggesting Tyrer mightiness person suffered from football-related encephalon trauma agelong earlier the thought was introduced, the NFL's astir cherished institution is being dragged into a statement complete whether the brutality of the athletics should beryllium origin for forgiveness and compassion.

"I conscionable felt this was an rumor that the ... full committee should person a chance to discuss," said Gary Myers, a seasoned New York journalist who, arsenic a personnel of the Senior Committee, was among those who voted to make Tyrer 1 of 3 elder subordinate finalists to beforehand to a afloat vote.

Tyrer is 1 of 5 men vying for 3 spots. The others are Mike Holmgren, who led the Packers to a Super Bowl triumph and coached 17 seasons successful the league; erstwhile Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe; Maxie Baughan, a nine-time Pro Bowl linebacker successful the 1960s; and Ralph Hay, who has been called the founding begetter of the NFL.

Nominees must person astatine slightest 40 of 49 votes -- a minimum of 80 percent -- to make the Hall.

Whether Tyrer tin get to the period is acold from certain, contempt the support of respective voters and Tyrer family members who opportunity they agelong agone forgave him.

Longtime Hall elector Jason Cole told ESPN he has "incredible compassion for the family" but said that he won't ballot for Tyrer.

"It's morally abhorrent and unacceptable to put a murderer successful the Hall of Fame if you person the powerfulness to do otherwise," Cole said.

"It's opening up a elephantine tin of worms if you commencement to see that CTE is an excuse because, A) we don't cognize if he really had CTE; it's a guess, astir apt a adjacent guess, but we will ne'er know. And B) CTE does not let you to get distant pinch heinous crimes and past beryllium celebrated separately."

Vahe Gregorian, a seasoned journalist who has had a ballot for respective years, said that aft speaking pinch Tyrer's family and a expert who treated the player, he tin judge the CTE argument.

"I deliberation erstwhile you spot that this is simply a man, who had for decades lived a life that was admired by many, that this alteration successful him was caused by [CTE]," Gregorian said, "... I deliberation to me, it says this was because of terrible encephalon damage, not being of a willful enactment by this person. I don't know, that makes maine look astatine it differently."

Regardless of wherever voters land, 1 longtime voter, who requested anonymity complete concerns astir really Hall of Fame officials mightiness position his comments, said of Tyrer: "He's the astir uncomfortable sanction connected the ballot. It's the 1 point they don't want to talk about."

If the Hall of Fame's bylaws are followed, the murder-suicide mightiness ne'er beryllium mentioned. Unlike Major League Baseball, which has an oft-discussed characteristic clause that has kept respective players retired of its Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall's bylaws are clear that only onfield capacity should beryllium considered. There's moreover a circumstantial directive not to measurement thing else.

"Off the section aliases distant from the crippled contributions and/or situations (positive aliases negative) are not to beryllium considered, and selectors are prohibited from including them successful presentations aliases discussion," the bylaws read. "If a selector violates the supra rule, he/she would beryllium warned, and if repeated would beryllium prohibited from further comments during the gathering and a imaginable early removal from the Selection Committee."

Myers, who said he hasn't decided really he will vote, says of Tyrer's candidacy, "This to maine is simply a existent trial of whether we adhere to the Hall's instruction to only see what's connected the field, because what happened disconnected the section pinch Jim Tyrer was horrific."

Even pinch the Hall's directive to attraction connected the field, it's evident that Tyrer's sanction vanished from the ballot aft conscionable 1 twelvemonth because of the murder-suicide. It's besides clear that it wouldn't person made its measurement backmost without the mounting grounds of the relationship betwixt semipermanent encephalon harm and master football.

'An American tragedy'

Even those who reason inducting Tyrer don't mobility his Hall of Fame credentials. He was a ascendant unit for the Chiefs successful the American Football League successful the '60s and aft the merger pinch the NFL successful 1970. As a near tackle protecting early Hall of Famer Len Dawson, Tyrer played successful 180 consecutive games and started each crippled of his 11 seasons successful Kansas City. He made 9 Pro Bowls, was named to the AFL's All-Time Team and is successful the Chiefs' Hall of Fame.

At 6-6 and 300 pounds, Tyrer was huge, peculiarly by NFL standards astatine the time. His caput was truthful large it required a custom-made helmet. This, astatine a clip erstwhile players were encouraged to usage their heads arsenic battering rams.

The communicative of Tyrer's sanction returning to the ballot traces successful ample portion to a documentary filmmaker whose task astir the subordinate and his family included interviews pinch Hall of Fame voters. Kevin Patrick Allen -- who produced a short movie astir Tyrer called "A Good Man" and is now moving connected a longer documentary, "Beneath the Shadow" -- besides interviewed a expert who said he treated Tyrer conscionable days earlier the murder-suicide.

In a caller question and reply pinch ESPN, Dr. Douglas Paone repeated what he first told Allen: Tyrer came to him complaining of headaches and abdominal pain. Paone met doubly pinch Tyrer, first to analyse him and later to spell complete trial results. Tyrer's wife, Martha, was astatine some appointments. By the extremity of the 2nd visit, Paone said, he sensed Tyrer was experiencing slump complete the extremity of his shot profession and money troubles, and he referred Tyrer to a psychiatrist. That was connected a Friday.

"As we were stepping out, his woman grabbed maine by the limb and said, 'Something is incorrect pinch him, he's not himself,'" Paone said. "I looked astatine her -- I cognize precisely wherever I was opinionated erstwhile it happened, you know, for illustration you benignant of retrieve wherever you were erstwhile Kennedy was shot? She looked up astatine my eyes and said, 'There's thing incorrect pinch him, he's not the same.'"

Two days later, earlier dawn connected Monday morning, Tyrer changeable Martha to decease and past turned the weapon connected himself.

Later that week, The Washington Post published a communicative that now rings hauntingly familiar: of a erstwhile NFL subordinate who was "crumbling within," battling depression, paranoia, money problems and a assemblage breaking down -- of a man progressively unrecognizable to his family.

Dawson was quoted astatine the clip saying, "He was ever specified a strong, unchangeable guy. Something had to snap. He was a awesome family man. Doing thing for illustration this is wholly contrary to his character."

Research and consciousness astir the relationship betwixt shot and encephalon illness person exploded complete the past decade. Boston University, the leader successful this research, has posthumously diagnosed much than 300 ex-NFL players and recovered that much than 90 percent had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative illness pinch symptoms that see representation loss, confusion, impulse power problems, slump and aggression.

"When the early 2000s came around, they started talking astir CTE, and, successful retrospect, (Tyrer) fresh that to a tee," Paone said. "... My gosh, this is simply a feline who gave his full life to shot and ended it because of football. It's an American calamity is what it is."

Therein lies the lawsuit for Tyrer's renewed Hall of Fame candidacy: If you judge that shot played a portion successful him shooting his woman and past committing suicide, if you judge he was nary longer himself erstwhile he changeable that gun, if you judge capable clip has passed, past voting for a man who murdered his woman takes connected a different context.

'A span excessively far'

Tyrer was among 182 erstwhile players nominated for elder consideration, and he made it done a bid of cutdowns earlier the Senior Committee selected him arsenic 1 of 3 finalists. The lawsuit for Tyrer was made past period to the nine-member Senior Committee by Ron Borges, a longtime NFL writer and Hall voter.

Like respective different Hall of Fame voters, Borges declined to speak pinch ESPN, but arsenic acold backmost arsenic 2016, he was making the lawsuit to bring Tyrer backmost for consideration. In a portion for the website Talk of Fame Two, Borges quoted Hall of Fame protect extremity Elvin Bethea calling Tyrer, "The champion blocker I ever faced. ... All different blockers I faced successful the NFL were mediocre compared to him."

And past week, possibly anticipating he won't beryllium capable to talk astir the unreality hanging complete Tyrer's candidacy, Borges sent an email to each voter. In it, he wrote astir CTE and really nary 1 had "connected it to the concussive and destructive crippled of football" successful Tyrer's era. He named a number of high-profile players who person died and were later shown to person had the disease, including Junior Seau and Mike Webster, adding, "It is clear Tyrer was different of its victims."

Borges wrote that Tyrer earned the correct to beryllium successful the Hall of Fame but was "denied it because the crippled he played destroyed his encephalon and led to a family tragedy. We tin ne'er repair that calamity but we tin astatine slightest springiness the man and his family the grant his play connected the section earned him agelong ago."

On Tuesday, Borges will advocator connected Tyrer's behalf to the afloat committee. He'll person 5 minutes to seduce voters, past the level will unfastened to immoderate different elector who wants to speak.

"I deliberation it's really important to person this discussion, and I dream that we're capable to person it successful that room," said Cole, a elector since 2013 who has covered the convention for much than 30 years.

But if history is an denotation of what mightiness hap during the meeting, the 2nd personification tries to broach the murder-suicide, the speech will beryllium halted.

Although voters aren't allowed to talk publically what goes connected successful the room, respective cited the lawsuit of Lawrence Taylor arsenic an example. When a elector tried to bring up Taylor's supplier problems, including a 30-day suspension successful 1988, the Hall of Fame personnel moderating the convention trim him off.

Of course, that doesn't mean voters will person to explicate themselves if they take not to prime Tyrer. Nor does it mean location hasn't been behind-the-scenes lobbying successful the lead-up to the vote. Several voters were contacted by Bill Polian, a erstwhile NFL executive-turned-analyst who has had a ballot for respective years. Polian, 1 elector said, urged him and others not to prime Tyrer because of the murder-suicide.

Lobbying for a peculiar campaigner is thing new, but the elector told ESPN that until Polian's plea, "I'd ne'er gotten a telephone telling maine NOT to ballot for somebody."

Polian told ESPN he made calls to a fewer group and "talked, successful general, astir the people and things of that nature, not specifically astir (Tyrer's) candidacy. ... I talk to a fewer group that I respect, each year. And I talk to rather a fewer group who are not selectors each year, but they're group who I respect, whose opinions I solicit."

Asked really he would vote, Polian said, "I won't uncover who I ballot for nether immoderate circumstances. ... It's nobody's business but mine."

Cole said he understands the statement for Tyrer, but it's a "bridge excessively far" to "reward" him pinch introduction into the Hall. Cole and immoderate different voters said they interest Tyrer opens the doorway for citing CTE successful cases of different players who person committed crimes, specified arsenic erstwhile information Darren Sharper. Sharper, a five-time Pro Bowler complete a 14-year career, was sentenced to 20 years successful situation successful 2016 for drugging and raping much than a twelve women. His sanction was connected the ballot successful 2015 and 2016, but it has vanished since he went to prison.

Family was speedy to forgive

When he first heard the gunshots, 17-year-old Brad Tyrer concisely hid nether his bed, fearful location was an intruder successful the house. Soon, he and his siblings discovered thing acold worse. But moreover successful the haze that ensued aft some his parents were abruptly taken from him, 1 point remained clear, he said.

"We knew that the feline that did what he did to our mom that nighttime wasn't our dad," Brad Tyrer, now 61, told ESPN. "Our dada was a exemplary dad. He was a exemplary husband. He was a exemplary citizen. He was skipper of the team, right?"

Brad said he forgave his begetter wrong days. And erstwhile his mom's parents came to return attraction of the children, they, too, seemed to find a measurement to forgive the man who had taken their daughter. In fact, erstwhile Brad's grandfather passed distant years later, his grandma insisted that some Martha's and Jim's ashes beryllium buried successful the coffin pinch her husband.

"I conjecture I find it absorbing that location are guys retired location that aren't going to ballot for my dada because of what he did, but everybody that knew my dada was very speedy to forgive him," Brad said.

Brad's younger relative Jason said he hopes voters will travel the Hall's bylaws.

"He deserves it and earned it," Jason said. "... And immoderate happens, bully aliases bad, I'm gladsome that the effort was made, affirmative aliases not. On paper, if you look astatine the facts and the stats, he should beryllium there."

Several voters told ESPN they hoped Tyrer's analyzable candidacy would lead the Hall to reconsider its only-on-the-field edict.

"If his play connected the section made him worthy of being successful the Hall of Fame, past theoretically there's thing a personification tin do disconnected the section that tin return distant from that," Matt Maiocco, a newsman pinch NBC Sports Bay Area who has covered the 49ers for 30 seasons and is successful his eighth twelvemonth arsenic a Hall voter.

"I deliberation the Hall should revisit that because portion of the explanation of being a Hall of Famer is the word 'heroes of the game.' To me, a leader is personification who does a batch much than conscionable plays a mean crippled of football. A leader is personification who lives life to a definite modular disconnected the section arsenic well."

Maiocco said he wasn't speaking specifically astir Tyrer and is undecided astir really he plans to vote.

ESPN interrogator John Mastroberardino contributed to this report.