--- title: LaDainian Tomlinson: Read His Football Hall of Fame Speech description: Former NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 5, 2017. canonical: https://time.com/4891290/ladainian-tomlinson-pro-football-hall-of-fame-speech/ author: LaDainian Tomlinson article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-08T15:08:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:54:13.578Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Read LaDainian Tomlinson's Powerful Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech og:description: The former NFL running back spoke of his great great great grandfather, a slave og:url: https://time.com/4891290/ladainian-tomlinson-pro-football-hall-of-fame-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f7ade4439100a2/6988d8d4bc6cfc9b6b3e2913/ladainian-tomlinson-hall-of-fame-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: LaDanian Tomlinson og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read LaDainian Tomlinson's Powerful Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech twitter:description: The former NFL running back spoke of his great great great grandfather, a slave twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f7ade4439100a2/6988d8d4bc6cfc9b6b3e2913/ladainian-tomlinson-hall-of-fame-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read LaDainian Tomlinson's Stirring Hall of Fame Speech: 'My Story Is America's Story' by [LaDainian Tomlinson](https://time.com/author/ladainian-tomlinson/) ## LaDainian Tomlinson Aug 8, 2017 3:08 PM UTC  Former NFL player LaDainian Tomlinson poses with a bust of himself during an induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Canton, Ohio. Former NFL player LaDainian Tomlinson poses with a bust of himself during an induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Canton, Ohio.Gene J. Puskar—AP by [LaDainian Tomlinson](https://time.com/author/ladainian-tomlinson/) ## LaDainian Tomlinson Aug 8, 2017 3:08 PM UTC LaDainian Tomlinson, former NFL running back for the San Diego Chargers and New York Jets, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 5, 2017\. During his acceptance speech, he detailed his career — from a weight set his mother bought him, to attending Emmitt Smith’s football camp before his teens, to his time at Texas Christian University and his success in the NFL. He thanks his family, God, his idols, his teammates and his coaches. Often, this is where these speeches end. But in his conclusion, Tomlinson pushed further and finished with a message that has received praise in the days that have followed. He told the story about how his great great great grandfather arrived in America on a slave ship and how that cruelty led him and his family to where they are, and he explained the lessons he hopes Americans can learn from his story and those like it. --- > “” --- _Watch Tomlinson’s speech_ [_here_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DZi9MoaxTM&t=147s)_._ LaDainian Tomlinson: Read His Football Hall of Fame Speech ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4891290/ladainian-tomlinson-pro-football-hall-of-fame-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4891290/ladainian-tomlinson-pro-football-hall-of-fame-speech/"},"headline":"Read LaDainian Tomlinson's Stirring Hall of Fame Speech: 'My Story Is America's Story'","datePublished":"2017-08-08T15:08:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:54:13.578Z","description":"Former NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 5, 2017.","url":"https://time.com/4891290/ladainian-tomlinson-pro-football-hall-of-fame-speech/","keywords":["Sports","Football"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f7ade4439100a2/6988d8d4bc6cfc9b6b3e2913/ladainian-tomlinson-hall-of-fame-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"LaDainian Tomlinson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ladainian-tomlinson/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f7ade4439100a2/6988d8d4bc6cfc9b6b3e2913/ladainian-tomlinson-hall-of-fame-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"LaDanian Tomlinson","caption":"LaDanian Tomlinson","creditText":"Gene J. 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