Hall of Famer Doleman: Some 'bitter' about voting
Chris Doleman is one of six men who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, but the former defensive end admits he's bothered by the amount of attention being given to players who didn't make the cut for Canton.
"There are some guys that are a little bit bitter," Doleman told WCNN-AM in Atlanta (via SportsRadioInterviews.com). "Don’t hate me or hate the other guys who went in. That’s just the way it is.”
Doleman doesn't clarify whether or not he was talking about specific players or media members who took up the defense of some noteworthy Hall of Fame snubs such as Bill Parcells, Andre Reed and Cris Carter.
"The people who made those decisions? They sat in a room for seven hours and 37 minutes deciding five guys, so they went through this thing time after time after time and they all know who is coming up," said Doleman, who's fourth in NFL history with 150.5 career sacks. "They all know who is eligible in the next couple of years, and they are going to make their decision the way they are going to make their decisions.”
Reed, for one, openly admitted his disappointment but refused "to go out and bash anybody."
Doleman was selected in his eighth year of eligibility. He agrees with many who believe the voting system should be tweaked.
"I think the system has to get a little better," he said. "I think what happened and what really slows the system down is that we jump guys. That's the biggest thing that screws up the system. You got a guy that all of a sudden comes up and we gotta put him in his first year of eligibility."
Doleman joined Curtis Martin, Cortez Kennedy, Willie Roaf, Dermontti Dawson and senior selection Jack Butler in the 2012 class, which will be inducted Aug. 4.
