The Browns' Ring of Honor ceremony is bigger than Jim Brown, Terry Pluto writes.
Whatever beef he has with the Browns front office, Jim Brown should attend the team's Ring of Honor ceremony next month, says Terry Pluto.Team President Mike Holmgren was talking about the Browns' new and long overdue Ring of Honor.
On one side of him sat Paul Warfield. On the other side, Joe DeLamielleure. They are two of the Browns' 16 Hall of Famers who will comprise the first Ring of Honor.
But several of the questions were about Jim Brown, the greatest (my opinion) running back ever who might not be at the ceremony when the Browns host Kansas City on Sept. 19. In an interview with a Syracuse, N.Y., radio station, Brown indicated he has not been given proper respect by the new management team, which no longer wanted him an in advisory role.
Warfield's departure from the team was announced in the same press release, but his was voluntary. He said he's been thinking of retiring for a few years -- he had been working in the personnel department and took his job very seriously. Warfield mentioned he also is dealing with some family issues, and the Browns have kept the door wide open for his return anytime he wants to come back.
The greatest receiver in team history is trying to persuade his former teammate to show up for the ceremony. Perhaps the real answer is for owner Randy Lerner to sit down with Brown and Holmgren, and work out something that makes sense for both sides.
That's not Lerner's nature, but it goes with the job of being the team owner.
But Brown should understand this much -- the fans love him and want him at the ceremony. The franchise and the history of 16 Hall of Famers is bigger than any one player, even Brown.
Brown talks about respect being a "two-way street," but this is a family feud between Brown and management.
What about respect for the fans, who cheered and supported him? Or his former teammates such as Leroy Kelly, Mike McCormack, Bobby Mitchell and Warfield, who will be there? What about putting an exclamation point on the proceedings, his presence screaming that he is a bigger man than what he perceives to be unfair treatment from the Browns?
This will be a huge day for men such as DeLamielleure, whose excitement came out when mentioning how his eight grandchildren will be there -- and see that their grandpa was indeed very special back in the day of the Kardiac Kids.
It will be a huge day for former offensive lineman McCormack, whose last Browns season was 1962. And to Kelly, who made six Pro Bowls, but was never fully appreciated because he took Brown's place.
Of the 16 Hall of Famers, only seven are alive -- Ozzie Newsome, Kelly, Warfield, Mitchell, DeLamielleure, McCormack and Brown. Time passes quickly. Jackie (widow of Lou) Groza died a few weeks ago. The Groza family will be represented.
Mike (son of Paul) Brown said a member of his family is expected to attend, according to Holmgren. It's doubtful any member of the organization had a more bitter parting than Paul Brown, whom Art Modell fired after the 1962 season. Mike Brown owns the Cincinnati Bengals -- founded by his father -- but knows part of his heart remains with the fans in Cleveland.
The Ring of Honor is not about the current ownership or management team. It's about the Hall of Famers. It's about the fans. It's about the history of the Browns, which ties the players and the fans together.
As Jim Brown decides what he wants to do Sept. 19, he ought to think about that. It's not just about him, it's about everything that is the best of the Cleveland Browns.