The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Brown, Dorsett join Walter Camp Ring of Honor
ORANGE — Minutes before news broke that wide receiver Antonio Brown had lost his helmet grievance and looked forward to returning to the Raiders, another great Raiders receiver named Brown — one of the great receivers in football history — gave a knowing shrug.
It was one of those silent shrugs that shouted wisdom.
“They’re going to find a way to get Antonio a helmet that is satisfactory to the NFL and to him,” Tim Brown said Monday before he and Tony Dorsett were inducted into the Walter Camp Football Foundation Ring of Honor at Race Brook Country Club. “We’re talking about a helmet. Yes, it’s a very important piece of equipment obviously, but that won’t be the reason that man won’t play football.
“If he doesn’t play, it’s going to be because of something else, I can guarantee you that. This will be behind us in a couple of days and we’ll be talking football. I’m more concerned about his feet than the helmet situation.”
Tim Brown proved to be right, sooner maybe than even he expected.
Minutes later, Antonio Brown, who said new helmets restricted his vision, wrote on his verified social media accounts that he was rejoining the Raiders training camp. Brown, who had a twohour conference call Friday with an independent arbitrator, league officials and player and NFLPA representatives, lost his grievance to wear his 10yearold helmet.
“While I disagree with the arbitrator’s decision, I’m working on getting back to full health and looking forward to rejoining my teammates on the field,” Brown wrote. “I’m excited about this season appreciate all the concerns about my feet!”
With Antonio Brown also contracting frostbite when he didn’t wear the proper footwear when undergoing cryotherapy — head to toe — he has turned into one of the most bizarre stories in sports.
“What do you do?” Tim Brown said. “Do you stay off your feet? How well can he run? What can he do? I don’t know. That could be a problem.”
Da Raiders. Ya gotta love ’em. And with coach Jon Gruden and the Raiders on HBO “Hard Knocks” this year, you got to enjoy them.
“I watched an episode two nights ago, first one I watched,” said Brown, who played for Gruden with the Raiders and the Bucs. “Look, I know Jon Gruden probably better than any
body. I know what he’s going to do and what he’s not going to do. He loves the cameras. He’s going to make sure certain things are going to be said, so people can know.
“At the same time, he is as hardnosed a football coach as I’ve ever been around. He loves the tough, smashmouth football. Whatever they do in training camp, you’ll hear him say, ‘Can we do this? Are we going to get fined for this or that?’ He wants to smash heads every day. That’s who he is. It’s going to be a pretty interesting year. They’ve got some characters over there.”
It’s an amazing thing with the Walter Camp Foundation when you think about it. The history, the evolution, every winter the biggest names in football continue to arrive in New Haven for the weekend festivities. And now with the annual Kickoff Classic revived, here among some retired NFL players, were Walter Camp Players of the Year from 1976 and 1987. Both were Heisman Trophy winners. Both were inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
Dorsett. Pittsburgh. Cowboys.
Brown. Notre Dame. Raiders.
“With the Ring of Honor, we wanted to honor some of our great past players, ones who have been supportive of the foundation since they’ve been on our team,” Camp Foundation president Mario Coppola said. “These guys don’t have to come back, they do because they care about the Foundation and respect what we are. They’ve forged close relationships with our members.”
In Dorsett’s case, Coppola said, it’s Ray Palumbo, president and CEO of Underwater Construction Corporation, one of the Foundation’s major sponsors.
Without a major sponsor, the golf tournament ended eight years ago. With Coppola’s law firm Berchem Moses emerging as a sponsor, the golf restarted in 2018. Herschel Walker entered the Ring of Honor last year. Money is raised at events such as these, philanthropy that propels the Camp legacy of giving to local charities and youth organizations.
Dorsett doesn’t golf. And that’s a reason why two were honored this year. So Dorsett rode around in a cart and spent a little time with each foursome.
“The Ring of Honor, it’s a select group of people,” Dorsett said. “I’m honored to be one of them.”
Tim Brown is a strong golfer.
“Here I am, 53 years old, and still being honored by folks and when it comes from people like the Walter Camp, it means a lot to you,” Brown said.
“Anytime that you can say you were the Player of the Year by a group like the Walter Camp, it shuts everybody up. You can talk about the Heisman and this or that, but the award means just as much to me. These guys do such an incredible job in the community. I’ll never forget my hospital visits. That’s what it’s all about.”
The helmet issue, meanwhile, is an interesting one.
While Antonio Brown, who was traded from the Steelers to the Raiders in the offseason, sent waves through the game with his camp holdout, Tom Brady also has been forced to give up the helmet he wore in four Super Bowls. He said Monday on WEEI that he has experimented with a couple of different ones and doesn’t love the one he’s using. He also said, “I don’t really have much of a choice.”
CTE is a major concern in the game. Lives have been altered. Some have been ruined. Dorsett announced in 2013 he suffers from CTE. In a joint venture, the NFL and NFLPA agreed that helmets must be certified by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment. No equipment more than 10 years old can be used. So out with Brady’s Riddell VSR4 and out with Brown’s Schutt Air XP Advantage. While it doesn’t mean their helmets are necessarily unsafe, they are too aged.
“They’re trying to protect the players better with better helmets,” Dorsett said. “It’s a physically demanding, tough sport and anytime you can get something that will support you, help you, protect you, I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t want that.
“Right now, I’m doing pretty good. I’m doing damn good I like to say. I have my good days and my bad days, but for the most part it’s good.”