OPINION:
Darren Sharper preyed on offensive opponents on the football field. Darren Sharper preyed on women off the field.
The latter is the former, and the former is the latter. Neither deserves to be canonized in Canton, Ohio, in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Darren Sharper was a winner on the field in high school, in college at William & Mary and in the NFL. He even bested Tom Brady in a “Monday Night Football” game, a boast for NFC fans.
Yeah, his stats and multiple selections as a Pro Bowl player prove the on-field Darren Sharper is right up there with the best, including Hall of Famers Darrell Green, Deion Sanders and Rod Woodson, and fleet-footed playmakers like Ed Reed, without a doubt.
The off-field Darren Sharper, however, is unrecognizable.
His dimples, which stretched from his lower cheekbones, masked a different Darren Sharper.
The one who was a player in the game of football turned women into his prey in the game of life.
The one who has at least nine sexual assault victims, and could be linked to as many as 16 in several states, including Arizona, California and Louisiana.
The one who would plead guilty to using drugs on his victims with the intention to rape.
The one who pleaded guilty in Los Angeles of conspiracy to distribute Alprazolam, Diazepam and Zolpidem with intent to commit rape and two counts of distributing these substances with intent to commit rape.
The one who was sentenced in California to 220 months and followed by supervised release.
The one who was sentenced in Arizona to nine years in prison, with no chance for early release.
The one who was sentenced last month in Louisiana to 20 years in prison for three counts of rape.
The one who must register as a sex offender and comply with a “sex treatment condition” during his release.
This is the serial rapist Darren Sharper who hid behind the football gear.
This is the Darren Sharper his coaches, teammates and friends did not see.
This is the Darren Sharper his crime-aiding cohorts saw and went down with.
So comes a new mask. Not a mask of Darren Sharper’s making, mind you.
This mask was whipped up by eligible voters, backed by a rulebook established for the Pro Football Hall of Fame who never imagined they would honor a female sports broadcaster, Lesley Visser, among men.
The rules of the Hall of Fame mandate that only a nominee’s on-field record be considered. The nomination of Darren Sharper, however, cannot be.
It is impossible to separate the nominee from the serial rapist. He is who he is. The Hall of Fame mandate is what it is.
Neither needs to be changed.
What needs to occur — what must happen — is for the name of Darren Sharper to not make the list of finalists. It’s disgusting enough that he was nominated.
It will speak volumes about the National Football League as an American institution if the name Darren Sharper makes the cut in February.
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