Should Modell be in the Hall of Fame? - 19 Action News|Cleveland, OH|News, Weather, Sports

Should Modell be in the Hall of Fame?

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By Brian Duffy - email
Art Modell Art Modell

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  • Saturday, September 8 2012 8:08 PM EDT2012-09-09 00:08:44 GMT
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  • Friday, September 7 2012 10:53 AM EDT2012-09-07 14:53:10 GMT
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    Former Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell, the man responsible for moving the team to Baltimore, has died.

    David Modell confirmed his father died peacefully of natural causes Thursday morning. He was 87.
CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -

Is Art Modell a Hall of Famer?  You won't find many Clevelanders boosting his case.

"Who's that? I have no idea who he is. He's dead to me," said John McGovern.

The fact that Modell passed away in September may give his case some momentum. Add to that the fact that The Ravens are in the Super Bowl and it just may be now or never for Modell.

Browns fan Jay Bonning says no way Modell should get in, "I honestly don't understand why owners get in to begin with, but no I don't think he should be there, he stole the team from us, why should he."

"To vote for a guy like that? You can't knock him for his contribution to the game, maybe it's a little personal but I can't do it," said John O'Berry.

But there are some ready to forgive and forget, to move on, and who don't mind, or really don't care if Modell gets in the Hall.

"My opinion, he's done a lot for the NFL, even though I can't stand him, but, yes, he should get in," said Browns fan Tod Bobka.

"Yeah he moved the team, but that was years ago. We need to get over that, I think," said David Santiago.

Hall of Fame voters will conduct a day long debate on Friday, then they'll vote and the 2013 Hall of Fame class will be announced at 5:30 on Saturday.

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