Class

It's easy for people to say bad things about professional athletes. Far too often they deserve it. In this instance though, one doesn't. He deserves praise. I don't know how many other people will but I'm going to give it to him.

Michael Irvin showed real class today. Yes, this is the same Michael Irvin that seems to have had on again off again drug and related problems over the past several years. Today his former teammate, Troy Aikman was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And Michael Irvin wasn't. Most professional athletes would have bemoaned the decision and talked about how unfair it was. Some recently have even played "the race card" in circumstances less than this(read: Donovan McNabb). Given Irvin's recent history, I'm sure a lot of people expected him to rail on the process. Instead, Here's Irvin's reaction:

"Any level of disappointment I have is undermined by my joy for Troy... It's not about me, it's about Troy."

That's allowing a former teammate and friend enjoy their moment in the spotlight rather than overshadowing them with your own misery. That's putting others first and recognizing the big picture. That's class. Thanks for giving us a glimpse of something that's all too rare in the world today, Michael Irvin.