Overview
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, speaking Thursday at a Bank of America reception at the National Portrait Gallery, said he expects an announcement during next year’s NFL draft on the National Mall that Theodore Roosevelt will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- Burgum argued Roosevelt “saved football,” citing the 1905–06 push for rule changes that legalized the forward pass and created a neutral zone to curb dangerous mass plays.
- The NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame have not confirmed any plan, and inductees are chosen by a 50-member voting panel that requires a high approval threshold.
- Such an honor would be unusual for a political figure and would mark the first induction of a U.S. president if it advanced through the Hall’s process.
- The comments drew swift criticism on social media reported by Raw Story, while the same event featured Bank of America’s $5 million gift to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.