You may be right that Rice isn’t in the Hall of Fame because writers don’t like him. Of course, writers have been the Hall of Fame voters for a long time (all of Rice’s career), so if he was so interested in being voted in, he could have made an effort not to be a jerk. Doesn’t make it right, but like you said, sometimes the truth hurts.

As you noticed, I mentioned twice that I think Rice deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. You said, “I read your article and I did not see anywhere where you said you would start a team with Cal Ripken or Tony Gwynn,” and while that is technically correct, I did say that I believe most GMs would rather start a team around Ripken than Rice. And since it is important to you to hear me say it, here goes: I would definitely rather start a team around a guy who bats .350 or a power-hitting, slick-fielding shortstop than a defensively challenged, power-hitting left-fielder. YES, I would take Ripken or Gwynn over Rice any day.

Finally, where does “sports writers who are majority white” come from, and where does it fit into your argument? Grammar aside, are you really telling me that Rice isn’t in the Hall because he is black? Tell that to the dozens and dozens of black Hall of Famers (including Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Roy Campanella, Roberto Clemente, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Fergie Jenkins, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Joe Morgan, Eddie Murray, Satchel Paige, Kirby Puckett, Frank Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Ozzie Smith, Willie Stargell, and Dave Winfield). I am not denying that racism exists; I’m saying that your implication that Rice is denied because he is black is so absurd that it makes the rest of your argument look dumb for being in the same paragraph.