To the Hall of Fame officials, simply showing the video, which will not invoke Seau’s suicide, will keep the focus on his playing days. To his family still grappling with his death, though, the tribute seems underwhelming for one of the sport’s best linebackers and a highly regarded figure in Southern California where Seau grew up and played most of his 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 said. “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 brain injury and suicide have nothing to with the decision to only show a video, according to Joe Horrigan, a spokesman for the Hall of Fame who has overseen the ceremony for about 20 years.
Typically, a video produced by N.F.L Network is shown for all inductees. For living inductees, a family member and close associate then introduces the player on stage for an often emotion-filled speech.
In the past, for deceased inductees, presenters spoke but Horrigan said they often repeated what was in the video, prolonging an already lengthy ceremony. So a few years ago, the Hall eliminated speeches in these cases.
“There was an acceptance speech for deceased players but it got redundant,” Horrigan said. “The honor is supposed to be for the individual.”