Former Atlanta Falcons defensive end Chris Doleman was announced today as a member of the 2012 enshrinement class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, marking the second year in a row a former Falcon has received the honor.
Former Falcons CB Deion Sanders was a part of the 2011 class.
Doleman played for the Falcons in 1994 and 1995, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl in his final year in Atlanta. In his two seasons with the Falcons, Doleman tallied 16 sacks, one interception and one forced fumble.
Doleman told NFL Network that his son, Evan, will present him at the induction during the summer in Canton, Ohio.
Doleman spent 15 seasons in the NFL and earned eight trips to the Pro Bowl. He was a Hall of Fame semifinalist in 2005, 2009 and 2010.
"There's a moment in the process when you're like, 'If it happens, it happens; If it don't, it don't,' " Doleman told the NFL Network's Fran Charles. "But I'll tell you what, Fran, when they call your name, you're absolutely numb. There are times in your life when you always felt like, 'Why am I getting the short end of the stick?' Even though you're blessed and you have so many different things, you felt that maybe you might have been overlooked in some ways.
"I always had the respect of my peers, which is No. 1, and my family and I tried to go out and play to that level to make sure that I played for God, family and friends. It was one of those things where I never wanted to embarrass anybody, never wanted to put them in a position where they'd have to explain my actions. It is a big payoff, from every Little League coach I've had all the way up to my professional career, that they can say they played with me and I've never embarrassed them."
