Like many, former NFL linebacker London Fletcher thinks it's ridiculous that former Pittsburgh Steelers
defensive end L.C. Greenwood
is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Greenwood was once again snubbed by the HOF voters.
"Why is L.C. Greenwood not already in the @ProFootballHOF
? This is ridiculous! Same for a lot of other senior candidates," Fletcher wrote on X. "Saddest part is that he died in 2013, therefore even if he's selected this year he didn't receive his due H.O.F. flowers while living. Time for a change H.O.F."
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This was the first season that Greenwood has been a finalist in 40 years of eligibility.
Former San Francisco 49ers
running back Roger Craig was the only one of five candidates put forward by the seniors, coaches and contributors committees to be selected. Quarterback Drew Brees
, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald
, linebacker Luke Keuchly and kicker Adam Vinatieri
round out the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
The Hall of Fame voting process has received a lot of flak lately, especially with Bill Belichick not being a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Bob Papa, the voice of the New York Giants
, called the voting process a broken system
.
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"Help me understand this. Bill Belichick, Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, LC Greenwood and Robert Kraft were all lumped in one incongruous group. Voters could only vote for 3. And only ONE of the 5 got the necessary 80% of votes needed?"
Former Steelers player and coach Tony Dungy
, who is one of two with Pittsburgh
ties on the voting panel, alongside Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer Gerry Dulac, said the current Hall of Fame voting process is holding voters back from letting more deserving candidates be recognized
.
"I don't like the process the way it is now," Dungy said Tuesday in advance of Super Bowl LX in San Francisco
. "I said it last year. Now, I'm not going to comment on this year's voting because I don't know who's in and who's out, but I said it last year. We changed the process last year and went to this 80% deal. … Five years ago, we had an eight-person class: five modern, one coach, one contributor, one senior. Last year, we had a four-person class: three modern, no coaches, no contributors, one senior.
"That's because we changed the voting process. I don't know what we're going to have this year, but if you don't have a full class, we've got so many people who are worthy of being in the Hall of Fame, and if we don't put a full class in, to me, that's wrong. So we'll see. I don't know who's going to be in and who isn't, but we'll see on Thursday."
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Greenwood is the most-decorated member of the 1970s Steelers who has not yet been enshrined in Canton, Ohio. A 10th-round draft pick out of Arkansas Pine-Bluff in 1969, Greenwood became a starter in his third season and then spent another 10 as the team's stalwart at left defensive end alongside Joe Greene, Dwight White and Earl Holmes on the famous Steel Curtain defensive line.
He was a four-time Super Bowl champion, a six-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro. Greenwood was a member of the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, and is already a member of the Steelers Hall of Honor.
Though sacks were not official NFL statistics until 1983, research by Pro Football Reference
credits Greenwood with 78 in his career, the fourth-most in franchise history.
A native of Canton, Mississippi, Greenwood retired in 1981 and died from kidney failure in 2013 at the age of 67.
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The Super Steelers of the 1970s have 10 players in the Hall of Fame — five on offense and five on defense. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw, running back Franco Harris, wide receiver John Stallworth, wide receiver Lynn Swann, center Mike Webster, defensive tackle Joe Greene, linebacker Jack Lambert
, linebacker Jack Ham, cornerback Mel Blount and strong safety Donnie Shell are in the Hall. Head coach Chuck Noll is also in Canton.
There's a belief
that Hall of Fame voters feel like there's already enough '70s Steelers in the Hall of Fame, and that's why Greenwood continues to be denied.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from San Francisco.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now
: Ex-NFL Linebacker Rips HOF Voting Process for L.C. Greenwood Snub
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