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Did NFL edit out St. Louis references in Orlando Pace speech?

By Matt Couden

Aug 6, 2016; Canton, OH, USA; Former St. Louis Rams offensive tackle Orlando Pace gives his acceptance speech during the 2016 NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 6, 2016; Canton, OH, USA; Former St. Louis Rams offensive tackle Orlando Pace gives his acceptance speech during the 2016 NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Orlando Pace’s Hall of Fame speech from Saturday’s enshrinement was edited by the NFL for the eight-minute video provided on YouTube to remove mention of St. Louis.

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On Saturday, Orlando Pace was enshrined into the NFL Hall of Fame and gave an emotional speech about his time spent playing the game he loved. However, the NFL would later make sure that the recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee’s mention of the team’s city he played for received no mention in his acceptance speech.

The YouTube video checks in at eight minutes but has a glaring difference from what viewers saw on the live televised version of the speech. The speech was nearly cut in half for the YouTube video that’s presented, with the St. Louis mentions by the former Rams left tackle seemingly erased from that version.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/762077055643033600

While the YouTube video is clearly censored and has removed his mentions of St. Louis, the NFL website has at least provided the unedited version of Pace’s speech. The full version video is over 16 minutes in length and includes all mentions of St. Louis.

Now that the Rams have officially moved to Los Angeles and will play their games there in the coming season, it seems the league wants to distance itself from those mentions of the team’s former home. That seems like it could be a sneaky and questionable PR move on the part of the NFL as they want the fans to embrace the team’s newer location.

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