Latest / Seahawks Press Pass / Seahawks Legend Kenny Easley's Pro Football Hall of Fame Speech.mp3

Transcript

Seahawks Legend Kenny Easley's Pro Football Hall of Fame Speech.mp3 · Seahawks Press Pass

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, good evening.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: To all the family and friends and lovers of football
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: all across America and the world.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Thank you for being here today.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: I'd like to start by sharing a passage from the
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Bible that I've leaned on and counted on and trusted
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: with all certainty through the years, and that would be
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Philippians four and six, and it says, be anxious for nothing,
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: your requests be known to God.
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: First nominated.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: I was first nominated and for the Hall in nineteen
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: ninety seven.
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: Twenty years later, be anxious for nothing.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: The Hall of Fame was dropped on the shoulders of
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: Kenny easily, like a pair of shoulder pads. Some folks
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: said I deserve to be in the Hall earlier. I
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: don't believe that. Others said maybe he didn't play long enough.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: I don't believe that either.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: But my pastor Tyrone Armstrong here today, somewhere right down here.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: He said many times.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: There is a season for everything, and while we sometimes
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: tried to figure it out, God has already worked it out.
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: One I know there are a lot of deserving brothers
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: still out there waiting for their call.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: Like Roger Brown from Portsmouth, Virginia, Jack Tatum, the godfather
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: of big time thumpers, Jim Marshall, Ken Riley, Cliff Branch,
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Steve Atwater.
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: I thought you would like that.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: One, Sean Alexander, Brian Dawkins, John Lynch, Jacob Green, who.
• 2:57
  Speaker 5: Who thirty years removed from.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: The inner NFL.
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: Is still the Seahawks'.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: All time sack leader. Jacob is right down.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: Here today, and Dave Craig nineteen seasons in the NFL.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Now who would have thunk it? But there are perhaps
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: hundreds still waiting. So I say to you, my brothers
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: in waiting, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: known to God.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: And watch what God can do for you.
• 3:46
  Speaker 5: Listen.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: He may not come when you want him, but he's
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: a long time God. Thus I have learned in whatever
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: state I am, to be content. You see this joy
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: I have tonight. The world didn't give it to me,
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: and the world show can't take it away. This Hall
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: of Fame induction is like fiat that's been welled up
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: in my bones. And I can hear the choir singing
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: on this momentous occasion. I get joy when I think
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: about what he's done for me. To David Baker, the
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: Hall of Fame President, Staff and Senior Selection Committee, and
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: my fellow.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: Brother members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Kenny Easiley Hall of Famer number three oh six is
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: indeed great though, to be among your ranks tonight, and
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: I thank you, and I thank you for welcoming me
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: into your exclusive club. My induction tonight joins me with
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Clarence H. Parker and Bruce Smith as Pro Football Hall
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: of Famous from the seven five to seven in Hampton Roads.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: To my fellow class members of the twenty seventeen Hall
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: of Fame Mark Anderson, Terrell Davis, Jerry Jones, Jason Taylor, Ladamian, Tomlinson,
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: and Kurt Warner. Could be the start of a pretty
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: good team, wouldn't you say so? Jerry, Gentlemen, gold jackets,
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: these men right here, I make this promise to each
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: of you that I will forever uphold the dignity and
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: the pride of the men that wear and have worn
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: this gold jacket before me.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Forty two years ago, my high school.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Coach, Tommy Rhodse told me, if I kept working hard
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: in school and on the football field, I'd be able
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: to attend any college in the nation, and I believed it.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: Forty year friendship and player coach relationship, in some sense,
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: has come full circle tonight with him as my presenter
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I only wish
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: his late wife, Debbie and my good friend was here
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: tonight to share in this moment with us.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: To the woman I wedded thirty five years.
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: Ago, my devoted wife, Gail, thank you, honey, for standing
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: with me, for standing with me, beside me, sometimes in
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: front of me, but always behind me. Together we raise
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: three unbelievable children, Kindred the Thinker, Gabrielle the Adventurer, and
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: our final issue to the world, Jordana the Maestro.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: Some have said the wealth of.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: A husband and wife lies in the quality of their children.
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: If true, then Gail and I are wealthy beyond measure.
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: Thank you. My mother.
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: Fell ill last week and was unable to be here
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: tonight to witness her firstborn become Pro Football Hall of
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: Famer number three oh six, and we miss her. There
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: was a lot of folks around South Norfolk that thought
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: I was making a very big mistake. Yet even though
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: my mom knew.
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: She'd missed me terribly if I left.
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: To go to California, she told me to go anyway.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: It's your decision, it's your life.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: Her final words to me, once you get through the
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: security gate, I don't want you to turn wade or
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: ever look back. And by the way, you prove them wrong.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: To my deceased father, all I can say is that
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: you were right, but you will have to read my
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: unpublished book to find out what my dad actually said.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: The title of my book Forced five the Enforcer to
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: my three sisters, Patricia Ivat and Tracy, three peas in
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: a pot. That's how close they were and still are.
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: Good sisters, godly women. And my younger brother Keith, who
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: paid me a great compliment when he said he was
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: proud that I was his big brother. Well, I'm proud
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: of you as well as my younger brother.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: The world is less of a better place.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: Without these two people. Stand and Shirlen Wayner. They're no
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: longer here with us, but we were my surrogate parents
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: and family in Los Angeles. I miss you, I love you,
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: and thank you both. Gary Singer and Ryan Waanger. I
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: know you're out there somewhere. Thank you for being here tonight.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: To all the family and friends that have pressed their
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: way to Canton this evening from Virginia, Washington, d C, Texas, Maryland, California, Arizona,
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: and my former home Washington State, Thank you for being
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: here and sharing in this incredible experience with my family
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: and me.
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: To all the.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: Brother footballers who toiled with.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: Me at Oscar Smith High School, UCLA and Seattle. It
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: was always about one thing, all for one, one for all,
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: boot him up and no sweat moose.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: Greg Sheryld, Zeke Hill, you.
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: Know what I'm talking about.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: Mister Paul Allen.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: The terrific owner of the Seattle Seahawks, Thank you, sir
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: for reaching out to Kenny Easley in two thousand and
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: two after a fifteen year isolation from the organization. I
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: believe in the old adage that water runs downhill and
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: thus winning starts at the top. And you have run
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: a great organization with a terrific head coach and Pete Carroll.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: How about the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl in
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: twenty eighteen.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: Now I have to confess I may be a tad
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: bit bias on this next subject, but to the greatest
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: football fans in.
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: The history of the NFL.
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: That occupied the old Kingdome back in the seventies and
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: the eighties and now Central Leak Field. They called themselves
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: the Twelves. I say thank you. You guys made and
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: still make pro football really fun in the Pacific Northwest.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: Mama Bloo, I know you're out there somewhere. You were
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: a part of something back in the seventies and the
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: eighties called the Way. Well, I'm gonna ask you a favor.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: I'll be in Seattle on October the first for the
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: Seahawks Coats game, and I like to see the Way
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: perform just one more time for all the guys that
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: played in the seventies and the eighties.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: Can you do that for him? Brother to my brother, member.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: Of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, mister Ronnie Lot,
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: Our names and legacy will live on for at least
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: the next forty thousand years, the life expectancy of our
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: individual bus folks will look at our bus and start
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: to debate all over again who was better, Ronnie Lot
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: or Kenny Easley. So I'm gonna settle it now publicly
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: and for good. In the last thirty years, there has
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: been no better thumper, ballhawking, fiercely competitive, or smarter defensive
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: back in the NFL than Ronnie Lot.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: He was the best.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: There is settled, And because I said so, now some
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: will continue the argument, but it doesn't matter anymore.
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: Thirty years ago.
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: As young men at Southern cal and UCLA, then San
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: Francisco and Seattle, and unbeknownst to either, we pushed each
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: other to the pinnacle of our sport, and more importantly,
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: through the years, we forged a friendship that will withstand
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: and carry us through the remainder of our days.
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: One love, my brother, One love.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: Swing Man Melissa.
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: I know you're out there somewhere, and.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: I hope your footballer Tray will have the blessed opportunity
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: to stand right here someday. To Frank Cooney from the
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: Hall of Fame Senior Committee, who opined that he was
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: just doing his job writing a wrong and a very
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: fine young man named Bob Copainne, now a Minnesota school teacher,
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: who wrote to Kenny Easily as an eight year old
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: boy for an autograph, received it, and grew to become
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: a fan and unrelenting.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: Supporter of Ken Easley.
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: Together Frank and Bob crafted a narrative to re examine
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: the Kenni z of Ken Easley for Pro Football Hall Fame. Thus,
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: I stand before you tonight, a man touched by faith
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: and the power of prayer, ready to do the work
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: that I have been chosen to do in a new
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: chapter of my life as.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: A member of Men on the main Line, a group.
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: Dedicated to form bridget.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: From the valley of violence to an oasis of hope.
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: Please check out Faith hasm dot org as such, Please
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: allow me this opportunity and this moment for a very
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: serious message for which I feel very strongly about.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: Black lies do.
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  Speaker 5: Matter, and all lies matter too.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: But the carnage affecting young black men.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: Today, from random violence to police shootings across this nation
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: has to stop.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: We've got to stand up as.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: A country, as Black Americans and fight the good fight
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: to protect our youth and our American constitutional right not
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: to die while driving or walking the streets Black in America.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: It has to stop, and we can do it.
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: And the lessons we learned Ben Kent Patriots led by
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: Coach Ben Kent and the super running skills.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Of Wesley Brewley.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: And the south Side Raiders led by Parker Eldridge and
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: Michael Williams Jr.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: And coach Jason Brooks.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: I'll be home Sunday evening and our summer league will
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: get on the way in two weeks, so get them.
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: So get those children's registered.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: Blah blah blah, blah blah blah. My telor prompter just
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: went off, so that means I have to cut it short.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: So thank you very much and have a good evening.