"They let anyone into the HOF" - NFL fans react to Bruce Smith lashing out at Tony Boselli over Hall of Fame entry"

Bruce Smith had much to say about former Jacksonville Jaguars tackle Tony Boselli, who recently joined an exclusive group of NFL Hall of Famers.

Boselli is one of many members to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the class of 2022. The former tackle played in the NFL from 1995-2002 and went to five straight Pro Bowls, earning three straight first-team All-Pro honors.

While most felt that Boselli deserved to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith, the NFL's all-time leader in sacks, had a different opinion, which he aired on Instagram.

Bruce Smith's comments naturally drew a lot of Twitter attention. Opinions about the Hall of Famer's comments varied widely from people agreeing with the former pass rusher to people standing up for Boselli.

One Twitter user thinks Smith is right and that the NFL lets anyone into the HOF.

Others seem to agree with thinking there are more worthy left tackles who should be in the Hall of Fame.

This Twitter user went as far as saying Devin Hester should have been a Hall of Famer instead of Tony Boselli.

Some just straightup backed Smith.

However, certain individuals also criticized the Hall of Famer for posting such an elaborate insult.

Bruce Smith was also dissed for going after Tony Boselli in the way he did.

This Twitter user simply believes Smith is salty.

Fans even considered the possibility that Bruce Smith hates Boselli.

Why Bruce Smith thinks Boselli isn't worthy of being in the Hall of Fame

"A large part of the campaign to promote Tony Boselli into the Hall of Fame seems to hyper focus on a single successful performance he had against me in a 1996 playoff game. On the one hand, I'm quite flattered to be considered the gold standard by which another player's game can be measured to determine his qualification into the HOF. But on a more serious level, I and other HOFers believe it sets a horrible precedent to negatively zero in on a standing member of the Hall's play in order to validate the candidacy of a nominee."

The HOF is an exclusive fraternity that follows a tacit code of conduct which fosters respect and brotherhood between its members. Given the opportunity, any Hall of Famer could use his credentials to boast about his dominance over another member, but such behavior is deemed inappropriate because of the friction and discord it could create within the group. Maintaining harmony and goodwill in the HOF is paramount, and it is precisely why player campaigns have historically been presented respectfully and thoughtfully, allowing the candidate's stats and complete body of work to speak resoundingly for itself.

"Resorting to underhanded tactics, like targeting a HOFer and hyping a one game matchup to bolster the nominee's merit, as some of Tony's supporters have done, undermines the integrity of the Hall's election process. It also invites otherwise unnecessary commentary and scrutiny around that candidate's worthiness of becoming a member of the HOF."

"In Jacksonville, Leon Searcy bore the arduous task of protecting Mark Brunell's blind side, while Tony benefited from protecting the extremely talented, mobile left handed quarterback. During my nineteen years in the NFL, several outstanding LTs, such as Bruce Armstrong, Richmond Webb and Will Wolford, all had stellar games against me. Perhaps they too would be wise to build HOF campaigns highlight that fact."