DENT FEELS SNUBBED: Former NFL and Tennessee State star Richard Dent feels black college players like himself are not getting proper consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Dent, who posted 137 career sacks, tied for fifth all-time in NFL history, during a standout career as a defensive end on the famed Chicago Bears defense that led the storied franchise to the Super Bowl XX title, said in a story published last week in the New York Post, "Guys from black schools seem to have a hard time when it comes down to Hall of Fame situations. I'm a guy that crawled from under a rock and bloomed to be something special. If I was a white ballplayer, I would probably be known worldwide, especially coming from Chicago, one of the major markets." Dent's comments echoed those of former South Carolina State star and New York Giant middle linebacker Harry Carson, a nine-time Pro Bowler, who asked early this year that his name be removed from future Hall of Fame consideration after being passed over in four previous votes. Dent, Carson, fellow Tennessee State alum Claude Humphrey, a five-time Pro Bowl selectee with Atlanta, and former Pittsburgh Steeler defensive end and Arkansas AM&N (now Arkansas-Pine Bluff) grad, L. C. Greenwood, who won four Super Bowl titles with the Steelers, are among 25 semifinalists that will be cut to 15 finalists this month. Rayfield Wright, a product of Fort Valley State, who starred at offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys teams of the early '70s winning two Super Bowl titles and earning six straight all-Pro designations, is a Seniors Committee selection as a finalist for 2006. Voting for the Hall will be held on Feb. 4, the day before the Super Bowl in Detroit.

© 2006 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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