Andre Rison still hoping for Pro Football Hall of Fame nod
ATLANTA (BVM) – Andre Rison had a fruitful 12-year NFL career where he established himself as one of the best offensive weapons in the entire league. However, Rison had his fair share of off-the-field issues that kept him in the limelight, but not for reasons athletes hope for. Today, Rison is waiting for an opportunity to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but the debate rages on whether his actions away from the gridiron should keep him out of Canton.
Early life and high school football
Born and raised in Flint, Michigan, Rison quickly became an athletic star in the area. He was a three-sport athlete at Flint Northwestern, playing football, basketball while also participating in track and field.
His athletic prowess was on display in all three disciplines as he earned all-state in each by the time he graduated. Rison’s range of skills are also reflected by the fact he helped the Wildcats win back-to-back Class A state basketball championships in 1984 and 1985, his junior and senior seasons.
The former Flint Northwestern star was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. Though his high school career could’ve arguably been enough to earn him a spot into the hallowed hall, Rison continued his strong play in the state by joining the Michigan State Spartans football program.
Michigan State
Staying in his home state, Rison saw the field quickly for the Spartans, playing in all 12 games as a freshman and catching 19 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns. The wide receiver earned even more playing time as a sophomore and registered his best season with career highs in catches and receiving yards with 54 and 966, respectively, while also catching five touchdowns. This earned the sophomore first-team All-Big Ten honors.
His junior season of 1987 was a slight down year for Rison as he recorded just 34 catches for 785 yards and five scores, but he would bounce back in a big way as a senior. During the 1988 season, Rison recorded 39 catches for 961 yards and a career best eight receiving touchdowns while also rushing for 62 yards to give him his first season with 1,000 yards with 1,023 total. This earned Rison not only first-team All-Big Ten honors but also first-team All-American honors from Gannett News Service.
Rison finished his Spartans career on top of the receiving leaderboards with 146 receptions, 2,992 receiving yards and 11 100-yard games. He was inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.
NFL career
After his stellar career at Michigan State, Rison entered his name into the 1989 NFL Draft where he was selected in the first round, pick No. 22 overall, by the Indianapolis Colts. In his rookie season, Rison proved he would be one of the best young stars as he caught 52 passes for 820 yards and four touchdowns in 16 games and 13 starts. This earned the youngster the second-most votes for Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie honors.
Andre Rison putting the whole defense on skates to get in the end zone.
(Nov. 5, 1989) @AndreRisonPro @Colts #MIAvsIND pic.twitter.com/7SYh2TnvdJ
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) November 25, 2018
However, Rison’s time with the Colts was short-lived as he was traded in a package to the Atlanta Falcons for the No. 1 overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. The deal quickly became a win for the Falcons with Rison and some of the other pieces acquired in the package. In Atlanta, Rison became a superstar.
During five seasons with the Falcons, Rison racked up 423 catches for 5,633 yards and 56 receiving touchdowns along with helping the team make the 1991 postseason. Rison was named a Pro Bowler in four of his five seasons in Atlanta and earned first-team All-Pro in 1990 and second-team All-Pro from 1991-93. He also led the league with 15 touchdown catches in 1993.
While a star with the Falcons, a falling out between Rison and the franchise found him go to the Cleveland Browns for the 1995 season where he had his worst season to that point with just 47 catches for 701 yards and three touchdowns. The 1996 season wouldn’t go much better as Rison signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and played in just 10 games with nine starts before his release. However, he signed with the Green Bay Packers just in time for their Super Bowl run and even scored a touchdown in the team’s Super Bowl XXXI 35-21 victory.
During the 1997 offseason, Rison signed a two-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. In his first year with the Chiefs, Rison returned to form as he caught 72 passes for 1,092 yards and seven touchdowns, earning his fifth Pro Bowl nod. Injuries would limit Rison’s performance over the next two seasons as he recorded just 61 catches for 760 yards and five touchdowns over 29 games.
In 2000, a 33-year-old Rison signed with the Oakland Raiders and had a strong season with 41 catches for 606 yards and six scores while playing in all 16 games. He retired following the season.
Off the field
Rison had his share of the headlines off the field. In 1991, he and teammate Deion Sanders starred in MC Hammer’s music video for “2 Legit 2 Quit” alongside celebrities like Queen Latifah, Jim Belushi and James Brown as well as other athletes like Jose Canseco, Wayne Gretzky, Ronnie Lott and Isiah Thomas to just name a few.
However, negative off-the-field incidents also started to follow Rison. In 1993, he was charged with aggravated assault against his In June then-girlfriend, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, of the Grammy Award-winning group TLC. In 1994, Lopes was arrested and charged for felony arson after setting Rison’s $1.3 million mansion on fire, a home the couple shared.
These incidents would bleed onto the field as Rison was fined during the 1994 season for a fight with Sanders, who was now a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Later that season, Rison was benched the entire first quarter of the team’s game against the Raiders for missing the team bus and then was suspended a game by the Falcons for being late to a team meeting.
During his time in Kansas City, Rison was in trouble with the law three times over a four-month period from late 1999 to 2000. It began with a disturbing the peace charge in Oct. 1999 then he was hit with a mortgage foreclosure lawsuit in Jan. 2000 before being charged with felony theft that February.
In 2001, the NFL suspended Rison for four games for a repeat violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. Child support payments have also dogged the former wideout’s retirement as he has been charged with failure to pay child support on numerous occasions.
Life in retirement
In recent years, Rison has made a slight turn to Hollywood. In 2012, Rison was featured in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “Broke” where he discussed having to file for bankruptcy in 2007 despite making over $19 million during his time in the NFL. In 2020, Rison helped produce an episode of Lifetime’s “Hopelessly in Love” which looked at his difficult relationship with Lopes until her death in 2002. On Aug. 14, Rison debuted the film of his life titled “Wide Open: The Andre Rison Story” which he wrote.
Since his retirement from football, Rison has kept close tabs with his former teams, visiting the Packers for a game last season while also visiting the Raiders for a preseason game this summer.
Game days at Lambeau! #packersfootball #greenbaypackers #lambeaufield pic.twitter.com/VkXxj0RbdN
— Andre Rison (@AndreRisonPro) October 3, 2021
Rison was selected as one of the 123 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022, though he didn’t advance to the next round of voting. Despite this, Rison does make a solid case for Hall of Fame induction as he ranks in the top 20 in career touchdown receptions and top 50 in career receiving yards.
Harold Carmichael’s career stats at 589 receptions for 8978 yards, 75 TD’s. I had 743 receptions for 10,205 yards and 84 TD’s. Harold was just voted into the @ProFootballHOF
I’ll be right here patiently waiting.@NFL @NFLMedia @NFLLegends pic.twitter.com/Lgp40jhcoB
— Andre Rison (@AndreRisonPro) January 16, 2020
While it remains to be seen if Rison will ever join the hallowed halls of Canton, he will always be remembered for both his gameday performances and struggles off the gridiron. One thing was always guaranteed with Rison, he was always going to be entertaining.
