Joe DeLamielleure excited for upcoming 20th anniversary of his Hall of Fame enshrinement

Joe DeLamielleure resides in South Carolina and every year travels up north to his hometown of Detroit to see his family. Before heading to the Motor City, he makes a quick stop at Canton to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That has become an annual thing, and next year will mark his 20th year doing it since being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

On Sunday, DeLamielleure made a guest appearance at the Hall of Fame’s Best Day Ever event, where he was the guest speaker and the life of the party. Specifically, for the Buffalo Bills fan base that came to watch the Bills play the Baltimore Ravens on the big screen at the Nash Family Event and Conference Center.

As fans asked questions, DeLamielleure talked about numerous topics, spanning his NFL playing days with the Bills and Cleveland Browns and going back to his high school days. One fan in the audience Sunday actually played against him in high school.

“It’s fun because they are just fans,” DeLamielleure said. “A lot of them can’t afford tickets to go to games. So these are the real fans who are coming out to watch the game on the big screen at the Hall of Fame. It’s pretty cool.”

DeLamielleure mentioned how befriended his fellow Hall of Fame class member Elvin Bethea and made trips around Canton and Massillon while he was coaching in college at Duke. When asked about the changes made around the Hall, there was one thing that stood out to him.

“It’s actually the stadium,” he said. "I used to coach at Duke and I recruited kids out of Massillon and McKinley here. So, I came when it was just a football field, now you look at the complex, it’s like ‘Are you kidding me?’ It’s a beautiful stadium.”

As the selection process for the Class of 2023 is underway, DeLamielleure advocated for Joe Klecko, one of the finalists from the seniors committee. "He's that type of player (who is a Hall of Famer)," DeLamielleure said of Klecko.

DeLamielleure also advocated for former Browns star Clay Matthews, who did not make the cut with the seniors committee this time around.

“I also played with Clay Matthews and (he's) the best player I played against because I played with him in Cleveland and against him in Buffalo, and that guy is outstanding," DeLamielleure said. "But it’s just so many. I could give 20 guys who should be in the Hall of Fame. But that’s just the way it is, timing is everything.”

LeRoy Butler, an advocate for anti-bullying

LeRoy Butler has not slowed down since his enshrinement this year in the Hall's Class of 2022. The former Green Bay Packer stopped by Canton last week as a guest speaker of the Heart of Famer, spreading awareness of Anti-Bullying Month. Butler has never forgotten his roots as a Jacksonville native.

Butler talks about idolizing legendary Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach growing up and was teased by other children because Staubach’s name was misspelled after his mother wrote it on the back of his T-shirt. Butler spoke to the children in attendance and talked about how to deal with bullying.

“There is a fine line between having fun and bullying. Bullying to me is a group of people collectively thinking about … ‘Let's do something that will make us feel good, but put somebody down,’” Butler said. “Group text, make up a rumor and stuff like that. I put the blinders up and I ignored them, and it stopped. But when you wake up everyday and say I’m going to make good friends and be myself, that’s how to combat it and that’s how you know you are getting bullied or not. If you can ignore it every single day, you’ll come back. But if you let them know what gets to you, it won’t stop.”

Butler also has launched his own podcast called “Leap36 Podcast." Butler, known for starting the Lambeau Leap, played all of his 12 seasons with the Packers, where he was a Super Bowl champion, a four-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler.

Sam Mills honored during Carolina Panthers halftime ceremony

The late Sam Mills was honored during halftime of the Carolina Panthers' home game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday for his inclusion in the Hall's Class of 2022.

The Mills family walked a blue carpet to the No. 51 painted on the 50-yard line, which was Mills' jersey number with the Panthers.  Longtime play-by-play announcer Mick Mixon hosted the ceremony.

“In just three seasons as a player and seven seasons as a coach, Sam Mills gave this organization our identity, our brand, our rallying cry,” Mixon said. “There was magic in Sam Mills. His power, his grace, his spirit changed people. It inspired them, made them better and made them believe. That magic is still alive today.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Panthers owner, David Tepper and his wife, Nicole presented the Mills Family with an 8-foot multimedia chalk and charcoal drawing, a Panthers Hall of Honor blazer, a frame of his original contract with the team in 1995 and the No. 51 nameplate from his locker.

Before kickoff, Melanie Mills, Sam’s wife, banged the team's Keep Pounding Drum. Mills made the phrase "keep pounding" the team's rallying cry as a coach when he battled cancer. Montclair State, Mills’ alma mater, also plans on honoring Mills with helmet decals. Mills was an undrafted linebacker out of Montclair State.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Joe DeLamielleure entertains at Pro Football Hall of Fame event