Why are we writing about Mel Blount? It’s news, we promise

Friday afternoon, PUP editors received a message that mentioned former Steelers player Mel Blount. The message included another big name, one you’ll recognize from the presidential campaign. That’s the reason for this story — there’s news to report. And we’re bona fide reporters, dammit.

Then this happened: We went to YouTube and called up several Blount highlight reels. Hello, rabbit hole. Goodbye, afternoon.

Good Lord, pro football in the 1970s was a brutal game. No team played it more ferociously than the Steelers. The team seemed to absorb all the frustrations of a city facing the imminent collapse of its signature industry — one that provided tens of thousands jobs — and expressed it in the form of devastating physical punishment. It was fierceness raised as an art form, with opponents serving as canvases. Instead of paint, bruises.

But enough of that. We’re now back to our newsy selves, so here’s the news: Blount is adding his name to the list of 15 NFL Hall of Famers endorsing the Democratic presidential ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

(The entire list of players is at the bottom of the story. Take a look. You can do the same thing we did: Go to the highlight reels.)

Football has emerged as a player of sorts in this campaign. Walz, a former teacher, speaks often of his time as a high school football coach. And last week, 50 legendary football players and coaches from Historically Black Colleges and Universities announced their support for the Harris/Walz ticket. Among them: former NFL players Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Richard Dent, James “Shack” Harris (the NFL’s first Black full-time starting quarterback), Willie Lanier, Doug Williams (MVP in the 1988 Super Bowl) and Art Shell (first Black head coach in professional football’s modern era).

That announcement coincided with HBCU week. Harris herself is a graduate of an HBCU — Howard University. 

Why is the Harris campaign touting these endorsements? Well, an NAACP poll released a few weeks ago showed that more than a quarter of young Black men say they would support Republican candidate Donald Trump for president. Announcing the support of high-profile athletes (add NBA legends Magic Johnson and Steph Curry to the list) is surely an effort to shore up support among that group of voters.

Now, back to Blount. If you’re not a Steelers fan, or are too young to remember, Blount played for Pittsburgh in the ’70s and early ’80s, when the team rose to dominance in the NFL. Key to the team’s success was its defense, which had a reputation for crushing anyone with silly ambitions to reach the Steelers end zone. Wearing No. 47, Blount anchored himself a few yards off the line, at cornerback.

What struck us while we watched the highlight reels was Blount’s size — he’s 6-3. On a number of plays, he simply overpowered receivers. He was quick, too, and possessed an intuitive ability to adjust to a play. Of course he ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Blount is still around. We’ve seen him on occasion at various events, wearing a cowboy hat that makes him seem even bigger than he is.

The notification we received about the Blount endorsement included this quote from the Hall of Fame players: “We strongly support Kamala Harris for her vision of Democracy, Freedom, American world leadership, and equal education and equal opportunities for all Americans.”

A while later, we received a quote from a member of the Harris campaign:

“Surrounded by MAGA loyalists and emboldened by a Supreme Court that would grant him unchecked power — Donald Trump, at this stage in his life, is like that washed-up athlete who claims he’s still got it, refuses to hang up his cleats, and holds the franchise’s future hostage,” said Harris-Walz Communications Director Michael Tyler. “America’s top athletes know a bad game plan when they see one — and there’s none worse than Trump’s Project 2025. This endorsement will be critical in making the stakes of this election clear to those hard-to-reach voters, and by tapping in the biggest legends of our time, our campaign is making one thing very clear: There is no time to sit on the sidelines.”

Now, for the list of Hall of Fame players endorsing Harris. Fire up YouTube. In addition to Blount:

• Emmitt Smith (running back, mostly for Cowboys, then later for the Cardinals).
• Kellen Winslow (Chargers tight end).
• Andre Tippett (Patriots linebacker).
• Marv Levy (Bills head coach).
• Alan Page (defensive tackle for the Vikings, then the Bears).
• Drew Pearson (Cowboys wide receiver).
• Kenny Houston (Oilers safety).
• Jan Stenerud (Chiefs, Packers and Vikings placekicker).
• Calvin Johnson (Lions wide receiver).
• Robert Brazile (Oilers linebacker).
• Willie Roaf (offensive tackle for the Saints and Chiefs).
• Mike Haynes (cornerback for Patriots and Raiders).
• Elvin Bethea (Oilers defensive end).
• Ron Mix (Chargers offensive tackle).